#29, The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

I picked this book up because I had read it referred to as a classic, even though I had never heard of it. It is a sympathetic but clear-sighted portrayal of an aristocratic Sicilian family in decline, thanks to the changing political situation as Italy unifies, and to the family's own faults. The politics is in the background, the thoughts of the family's head, Don Fabrizio, are the core of this book. As the lead review says, "melancholy and powerful". Well worth the time.