The Gallery

The Gallery by John Horne Burns (1916-1953), public domain.

"The first book of real magnitude to come out of the last war." —John Dos Passos

John Horne Burns brought The Gallery back from World War II, and on publication in 1947 it became a critically-acclaimed bestseller. However, Burns's early death at the age of 36 led to the subsequent neglect of this searching book, which captures the shock the war dealt to the preconceptions and ideals of the victorious Americans.

Set in occupied Naples in 1944, The Gallery takes its name from the Galleria Umberto, a bombed-out arcade where everybody in town comes together in pursuit of food, drink, sex, money, and oblivion. A daring and enduring novel, The Gallery poignantly conveys the mixed feelings of the men and women who fought the war that made America a super-power.