Heart (novel)
Heart (Italian: Cuore) was a children's novel written by Italian author Edmondo De Amicis. It is set during the Italian unification, and includes several patriotic themes. It was issued by Treves on October 17, 1886, the first day of school in Italy, and rose to immediate success.
Through its investigation of social issues such as poverty, Heart shows the influence of left-wing ideologies on De Amicis' work (he was later to join the Italian Socialist Party). Because of this, the book remained influential (and the staple of many textbooks) in countries of the Eastern Bloc.
The novel was translated into Chinese in the early 20th Century (with the title "Ai Di Jiao Yu", literally "the Education of Love") and was quite well known in China.
The story is also popular in Japan, where a chapter of it was animated into the 52 episode series, 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother. It was later entirely adapted by Nippon Animation Co., Ltd. into the 26-episode anime TV series Ai no Gakko Cuore Monogatari (School of Love: The Story of Heart) in 1981. This series was broadcast on Italian TV as Cuore, the title of the original novel.
Plot and characters
The novel is written in a diary form as told by Enrico Bottini, a 10-year old primary school student in Italy with an upper class background who is surrounded by classmates of working class origin.
Enrico's parents and older siblings sometimes correspond with Enrico through the means of his diary: his teacher assigns him with homework dealing with stories of children throughout the Italian states, who should serve as role models - the stories are then given in full as Enrico is supposed to have written them. Most topics revolve around moral values, and the predilect ones include helping those in need, love for family and friends, and patriotism.