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The novel is set during the 1943 Allied occupation of the fictional Italian coastal town of Adano (based on the real city of Licata). The main character, Major Victor Joppolo, is the temporary administrator of the town during the occupation and is often referred to by the people of Adano as Mister Major.
- John Hersey
- 1944
The story concerns Italian-American U.S. Army major Joppolo, who is placed in charge of the town of Adano during the invasion of Sicily. The priest explains that the heart of the town's activities centered upon the ringing of a 700-year-old bell that was taken at the start of the war to be melted for weapons.
Based on true characters and events, the author tells a heart-warming story of how U. S. Major Victor Joppolo, the commanding officer in the southern Italian town of Adano shortly after the American invasion, tries to bring American democracy and justice to a town accustomed to fascism.
- (8.6K)
- Paperback
Jul 25, 2022 · John Hersey’s third book, A Bell For Adano, is a true delight. It is an episodic story about the Allied occupation of a Sicilian town at the end of World War II (“Operation HUSKY”) after the American troops invaded the country and Mussolini’s forces were pushed back.
Based on a True Story: The novel is a fictionalized telling of the American occupation of Licata, Sicily. Like Adano, Licata was a port town that also had a sulfur industry. Licata also had a 700-year-old bell melted down by the Fascists.
A Bell for Adano, novel by John Hersey, published in 1944 and awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1945. The novel’s action takes place during World War II after the occupation of Sicily by Allied forces. Maj. Victor Joppolo, an American army officer of Italian descent, is part of the Allied military government ruling the town of Adano.
Jan 27, 2016 · Then there’s John Hersey’s neglected classic A Bell for Adano. Its credentials as a war novel are certainly bona fide — it’s set during the Allied occupation of Sicily in the midst of World War II, opening with the line “Invasion had come to the town of Adano.”
