Apart from the work of three celebrated writers—Italo Calvino, Primo Levi, and Umberto Eco—what do most of us know about contemporary Italian fiction, about its trends, its techniques, its obsessions? Name and Tears, a collection of short stories edited and translated by Kathrine Jason, is an ambitious attempt to fill us in. Jason tells us in her introduction that hers “is the first anthology of Italian fiction to appear in twenty years.” For this reason

I wanted to present an overview of the period between 1945-1985. My basic premises for inclusion of stories were these: first, to include those writers whose contributions have been considered of major importance; secondly, to choose stories that have not appeared previously in English translation; and finally, to favor recent work, especially in the case of older writers, like Moravia, whose careers may span more than five decades.

We’re in trouble from the start. Jason, however fluent she may be in Italian, is not on easy terms with her native tongue. Note, among other infelicities, the odd progression from “first” to “secondly” to “finally,” the imprecise phrasing (is this anthology the first to appear in any language or only in English?), and the obfuscations of the passive voice (“writers whose contributions have been considered of major importance”). Does “contributions” refer to the selections included in this volume or to each author’s entire corpus? And who “considers” them important—other writers, critics, the reading public, the anthologist herself?

Jason’s headnotes are no