Mastro Don Gesualdo

Mastro-don Gesualdo by Giovanni Verga is a powerful tale of ambition, wealth, and isolation. Set in 19th-century Sicily, it follows Gesualdo Motta, a self-made man who rises from humble origins as a bricklayer to become one of the wealthiest landowners in his town. Despite his fortune, his relentless pursuit of success brings him little happiness: despised by the nobility he longs to join, misunderstood by his family, and abandoned in his final days. The novel explores themes of social class, greed, pride, and the tragic solitude of a man who gains everything yet loses the very essence of life.