Don Camillo Meets the Flower Children, by Giovanni Guareschi. Copyright © Rizzoli Editore, 1969 (Don Camillo e i giovani d'oggi). Translated by L.K. Conrad. NEW YORK: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Inc.; 1969.
Published in Great Britain by Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1970 under the title Don Camillo Meets Hell's Angels.
Published (UK) by Penguin Books, 1972.
Reprinted (UK) 1974.
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The last of Guareschi's Don Camillo books, and the second that reads as a novel rather than a short story collection, this one was published posthumously and pits the wily priest against a new enemy, one which is in many ways as formidable as Communism ever was: modernity. For much has changed in the "timeless" Little World. The Church has been through Vatican II and is determined to drag Don Camillo's parish with it into the 20th Century; meanwhile, Peppone's communists, still in power, appear to have made a kind of peace with post-war Western prosperity and now face a challenge from radicals within their midst; and finally, the younger generation has come of age, full of questions about the validity of the creeds for which its elders have fought all these years.

Among the newcomers to the Little World in this book are Don Francisco (aka Don Chichi), a hip young priest who thinks he has a thing or two to teach Don Camillo; Peppone's son Michele (aka Venom), a rebel who lacks a cause but actually has plenty of character; the Bognonis, a Maoist couple out to divide Peppone's flock; and-- last but not least-- Don Camillo's niece Elizabetta (aka Flora), an unscrupulous free spirit who can play all of the other characters off against one another (though she may not always be sure of her own motives for doing so). Though not everyone's favorite, I find this one a reasonably fitting farewell to the Little World.
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Don Camillo and the Lost Sheep-- Peppone's long-haired son Michele stirs up trouble for his father
The Secret of St Antony the Abbot-- a curate has arrived as an agent of Aggiornamento, so Don Camillo acquires a private chapel
Mao Does Not Take to the Water of the Po River-- Peppone finds himself at a political swim meet
The Flower Child (UK ed.: " Hell's Angel")-- Don Camillo's wayward niece arrives and offers the village a 2 a.m. serenade
(UK ed.: "A Wakeful Night"-- this chapter is not in the US ed'n., but it sounds like it refers to the episode alluded to above)
When a Cellar Is More Important Than a Dome (UK ed.: "One Occasion On Which a Cellar Was More Important Than a Dome")-- Don Camillo discovers a Red arsenal under his newly- purchased private chapel, but its owners intend to claim it
A Thrashing Followed By a Salting-- as "Don Chichi" alienates the parishioners, Flora organizes a rumble
Revenge-- Don Chichi settles his debt to a dead man, while Flora enters the Reds' "Miss Unity" contest
There Beat a Rock Platter in Place of a Heart (UK ed.: "But She Had a Heart After All")-- Flora learns how her father died
When Devils Don't Have Horns and a Tail (UK ed.: "Devils Are Not Necessarily Beings with Horns and a Tail")-- egged on by Flora, Don Chichi gets Don Camillo transferred; Flora then resorts to more devilment to save her uncle's post
Old Parish Priests Have Bones of Steel-- it turns out that the parish's old altar crucifix, now in Don Camillo's private chapel, is a work of art
Today's Young People Are a Complicated Bunch-- Flora, inspired by her late father, takes up a dangerous hobby
St Michael Had Four Wings-- now Flora says she's in the family way, and she's named a certain Mayor's son as the one responsible
That's the Way the Sheep Baas-- her appliance sales racket booming, Flora goes to confession
Remembering a November Day Long Ago (UK ed.: "Remembering a May Day Long Ago")-- Don Chichi returns from exile, just in time to deride Don Camillo's Mass for the Souls of the Dead Who Fought in Hungary
A Little Boy Who Saw Angels-- a poor little boy takes advantage of do-gooder Don Chichi
Yet Another Tale About The Great River Po (UK ed.: "Yet Another Tale About the Great River")-- when the flood displaces many, Don Camillo encourages the rebellious youth to find a cause and pitch in
Two Robbers Turn Into Three-- Don Camillo helps out when a pair of Hell's Angels is wrongly accused of a crime
Epilogue-- Peppone contemplates resigning as mayor; meanwhile, Flora plans her own future