Among Women Only

Clelia, a successful couturier, returns to Turin at the end of the Second World War. Opening a salon of her own leads her into a nihilistic circle of young hedonists, including the charismatic Rosetta, whose tragic death forms the novel's climax. Pavese's gritty tales of post-war Italy have led to frequent comparisons with Michelangelo Antonioni (Blowup, Beyond the Clouds), who successfully filmed Among Women Only as Le Amiche in 1955.