Bassani and Italian neo-realistn

Giorgio Bassani is an Italian novelist in the neo-realist tradition - the great post WWII boom in Italian literature and, in particular, film (de Sica, Rossellini, early Fellini) - who has slipped into obscurity and who's best known for his great novel The Garden of the Finzi Continis (which most people know through the excellent film adaptation). I haven't yet read deeply into his 1968 novel, The Heron, which I think came toward the end of his writing career - 40 pages or so - but even from this small sample we can see the insight into character, the beautifully controlled narrative, and the interest in society and class structure so important to his work - in particular the examination of the rise of fascism in Italy, the anti-Semitism during the war, the postwar anxiety about reconstruction and the potential rise of Communism. The first several chapters of this novel follow the early morning routine of the main character, Edgardo (?), over the course of about an hour - and it may be that the entire novel follows him over the course of a day?, we'll see, a la Ulysses; we learn in these first chapters, as E rises at about 5 a.m. and prepares to head off for a day of hunting, that he is Jewish and to protect family property he and his mother an sister transferred all ownership to his Christian wife; the two of them are estranged emotionally and sexually but bound to each other through this financial arrangement. Having protected his estate through this maneuver, he also is in danger as a movement among the laborers and peasants, inspired by Communism, has made all of the wealthy into targets of wrath and potential violence; E had faced a workers' uprising on his estate and had agreed to terms in re sharing of profits - but his lawyer persuaded him to cheat the workers on the deal. E also spends some time with Romeo, the loyal household servant (concierge) who has his own troubles with his daughter, who is living w/ (married to?) and unemployed worker/communist who demands money and support from her family - so, lots a themes and tensions build up right away. To say that this insightful, thoughtful novel, in its opening chapters, brings to mind that other great neo-realist, Lampedusa, is a pretty high compliment; we'll see if Bassani maintains that level of writing and style over the course of the narrative.