I have read a fascinating book recently.
It’s a book that reflects on family ties and the power of the past, which sometimes is impossible to escape. There’s also a little bit of a mystery, which makes the novel intriguing, and nature plays a key role in the story, almost acting as a proper character.
The book I am referring to is L’età fragile by Donatella Di Pietrantonio (which will be published in English with the title The Brittle Age), a very successful book that won the Premio Strega, the most important literary prize in Italy, this year. This means that there has been a lot of talk about the book, so I was really curious to read it.
Donatella Di Pietrantonio is an Italian writer brought to fame by his novel L’Arminuta (available in English as A Girl Returned), the story of a 13-year-old girl who, without warning or explanation, is sent away from the family she has always thought of as hers to live with her birth family. The novel tells about her shock of having to build a new life amidst a group of people she has never met and who do not seem welcoming at all.
Like all other books by the author, which you can read about in this other post of mine, L’Arminuta is set against the beautiful yet harsh landscape of Abruzzo, in central Italy, and focuses on the relationship between mothers and daughters, family ties, responsibility, siblings, and caregiving. These are also themes traceable in L’età fragile, her most recent book.
The novel follows Lucia, a physiotherapist who lives in Abruzzo and is undergoing a separation from her husband. One day, unexpectedly, her daughter Amanda returns home from Milan, where she is studying at university. Amanda’s return and the fact that she sees her fragile and distressed awakens in Lucia the memory of a brutal crime that happened when she was 20.
All of sudden, Lucia has to deal with Amanda, who is going through some hard times, and with her own trauma, which somehow she has kept buried inside herself for many years. Inspired by a real event that took place in the Maiella mountains in the 1990s, Di Pietrantonio weaves a compelling story that is a reflection on human relationships but is also a mystery novel because we realize that something terrible has happened but do not know exactly what. In fact, the horrible crime that still haunts the lives of the locals is revealed only towards the end of the book.
As mentioned, the book is about the relationship between mother and daughter and poses many questions, one of which is “Whom does the brittle age of the title refer to?”. To the young daughter becoming an adult, or the mother who has to let her child go? Who is the fragile one in the relationship? Also, it is a novel about solitude: everybody is alone, the family members, the young kids, and even the shepherds who spend long days alone in the mountains with their animals.
In addition, the harsh landscape of the mountains in Abruzzo is a character in itself, which adds to the haunting feeling of despair one feels throughout the novel. This is also reflected in the sparse writing style, minimal and taut. It is definitely not a happy or feel-good book. On the contrary, it is dark and somber but it is also an interesting reflection on human relationships and the force of the past, which can come back and haunt us.
When it comes to the Italian language, the themes can make the book a bit of a difficult read. However, the sentences are concise and the chapters are short, so I think it is good for B2 readers and above. If you want to read it in English, Europa Editions is publishing the book soon. By the way, if you are into Italian literature, I’d recommend signing up for their newsletter to be informed about new releases.
And you? Have you read any engaging Italian novels recently? Tell me!
If you are looking for interesting ways to practice your Italian daily, I suggest you check out my program called Giorno dopo giorno, a daily Italian practice.
If you sign up for Giorno dopo giorno, you will receive an email every other day for 365 days. Each email will contain a prompt, a little exercise, something to watch, read, or listen to, or something that will gently force you to practice your Italian every day, making it part of your daily routine.
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