The Little Virtues

Considered among the best writers in contemporary Italy, Ginzburg should appeal to a wide American audience with this collection of essays, in Davis's empathetic translation. There are 11 entries reprinted from Italian journals; the latest, dated 1960, is the title piece, the concern of which is educating children, teaching ""not the little virtues but the great ones: not thrift but generosity; not shrewdness but frankness and a love of truth . . . .'' Friendships, family life, all kinds of human concerns are subjects that Ginzburg's lyricism makes unforgettable. There is salty wit in some of the essays, particularly the writer's uncharmed eye on things British in ``England: Eulogy and Lament.'' But a deeply affecting essay recalls ``Winter in the Abruzzi'' where the Ginzburgs were exiles during World War II. The piece ends with a stark, devastating report on the ``solitary death'' of the author's husband in prison under the Nazis. (October 15)