World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Edith Bruck

エディス・ブルック

Edith Bruck

Aliases: Edit Steinschreiber

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1931-05-03 （Tiszabercel, Hungary）
Nationality
Hungarian, Italian
Languages
Italian, Hungarian
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Tiszabercel, Hungary → Hungary (including Budapest) → Czechoslovakia (temporary) → Israel (briefly) → Italy (based mainly in Rome)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Screenwriter, Director
Active Years
1959-
Affiliations
Teatro della Maddalena (co-founder), RAI
Influenced By
Attila József (Hungarian poet), Miklós Radnóti (Hungarian poet), Gyula Illyés (Hungarian poet)
Nominations
Strega Prize — candidate: Due stanze vuote (1974), Strega Prize — finalist: Nuda proprietà (1993), Strega Prize — finalist: Lost Bread (2021)

Awards

Rapallo Carige Prize
1989
Work: Lettera alla madre (Letter to Mother)
Organization: Rapallo Carige Prize organization
Result: 受賞
Viareggio Prize
2009
Work: Quanta stella c’è nel cielo (How Many Stars Are in the Sky)
Organization: Viareggio Prize organization
Result: 受賞
Premio Campiello
2023
Category: キャリア賞
Organization: Premio Campiello organization
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Chi ti ama così (Who Loves You Like This)

1959 Novel

An early novel with autobiographical elements dealing with postwar migration, relationships and love.

Holocaust memoryMigrationLove and solitude
Translations
  • English translation: Who Loves You Like This (2001, translated by Thomas Kelso)

Andremo in città (We'll Go to the City)

1962 Short story collection

A collection of short stories including the title piece, which was adapted into a 1966 film by Nelo Risi. It addresses memory, nostalgia and rural–urban contrasts.

MemoryNostalgiaRural–urban contrast
Adaptations
  • [Film] Andremo in città (We'll Go to the City) / Nelo Risi (1966)

Due stanze vuote

1974 Short story collection

A 1974 short story collection that was a candidate for the Strega Prize. It emphasizes memory and female perspectives.

MemoryFeminine perspectiveLoss of the everyday

Lettera alla madre (Letter to Mother)

1988 Epistolary novel

A novel in letters that reflects on the Holocaust and family memory. It won the Rapallo Carige Prize in 1989.

Family and motherhoodMemory and lossRedemption and guilt

Nuda proprietà

1993 Novel

A novel published in 1993 that was a finalist for the Strega Prize.

Ownership and lossFamily relationshipsSettling with the past

Quanta stella c’è nel cielo (How Many Stars Are in the Sky)

2009 Novel

A novel about relationships and memory. It won the Viareggio Prize in 2009 and was later adapted into the film Anita B. by Roberto Faenza.

Memory and confessionMarital and family narrativesReconsidering the past
Adaptations
  • [Film] Anita B. / Roberto Faenza (2014)

Lost Bread

2021 Autobiographical novel

An autobiographical work recounting Holocaust experiences and postwar life. It was a finalist for the 2021 Strega Prize and received an English translation in 2023.

Holocaust testimonySurvival and memoryQuest for identity
Translations
  • English translation: Lost Bread (2023, translated by Gabriella Romani & David Yanoff)

Bibliography

  • Chi ti ama così (1959)
  • Andremo in città (1962)
  • Due stanze vuote (1974)
  • Per il tuo bene (play, 1975)
  • Mio splendido disastro (1979)
  • Lettera alla madre (1988)
  • Nuda proprietà (1993)
  • Il silenzio degli amanti (1997)
  • L’amore offeso (2002)
  • Quanta stella c’è nel cielo (2009)

Adaptations

  • Andremo in città (1966, dir. Nelo Risi)
  • A látogatás (The Visit) (1982, Hungarian documentary, dir. László Révész)
  • Anita B. (2014, dir. Roberto Faenza; based on Quanta stella c’è nel cielo)
  • Edith Bruck: The Woman and the Shoah (2023, documentary, dir. Michele Mally)

Translations by Author

  • Translations into Italian of Attila József (Hungarian poet)
  • Translations into Italian of Miklós Radnóti
  • Translations into Italian of Gyula Illyés

Translations of Works

  • English
  • Hungarian
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • German
  • Hebrew
  • French
  • Spanish

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Testimonial, restrained narrationAutobiographical and reflective stylePoetic and concise expression
Recurring Motifs
Memory and forgettingTrauma of the HolocaustMotherhood and familyMigration and exile

Legacy

Edith Bruck is internationally recognized for her testimony as a Holocaust survivor and for a substantial body of literature written in Italian. She has received several major literary prizes, been translated into many languages, and her life and work have been the subject of films and documentaries, reinforcing her role as a moral witness.

In Popular Culture

  • Film: Andremo in città (1966, based on her short story)
  • Hungarian documentary: A látogatás (The Visit) (1982, based on her script)
  • Film: Anita B. (2014, adaptation of Quanta stella c’è nel cielo)
  • Documentary: Edith Bruck: The Woman and the Shoah (2023)

Quotes

  • Making that film was a terrible ordeal, but I felt it was my duty.
    Source: EHRI blog (Pető, Andrea) — cited commentary (2020)

Trivia

  • Born a Jewish child in Tiszabercel and survived multiple concentration camps during World War II.
  • Retained the surname 'Bruck' from an early marriage (kept the name after divorce).
  • Her birth year has sometimes been reported as 1932, but she has stated that 1931 is correct.
  • Writes primarily in Italian, has translated Hungarian poetry into Italian, and has worked as a scriptwriter and director.