Almost a first for me - a book in translation that I couldn't put down. Niccolo Ammaniti's I'm Not Scared has been so masterfully translated from the Italian by Jonathan Hunt that there was never one instant when I felt I wasn't in touch with the original - and yet at no time felt any lack of magic in the language I was reading.Told by nine-year-old Michele, the story of a baking Italian summer gathers in intensity and bewilderment as his secret discovery threatens his entire way of life. In the same way as "To Kill a Mockingbird" puts life into perspective, "I'm Not Scared" shows us what a child sees and tells us with the honesty of childhood what he feels. Horror and beauty are juxtaposed in such a way that I was almost scared to turn the page, and by the end of the book I felt that anything was possible.
It made me late for Synod. Try reading it on a hot day, with the sweat trickling down your back. Really.
This nearly made my top 5 Chris - the film of it is beautiful too :-)
ReplyDeleteWas just about to make up my summer reading list. This will be the first entry.
ReplyDeleteAny other recommendations? Would be fun if you wrote a books tag entry? See - http://teach77.wordpress.com/2007/05/25/books-tag/ - for details.
I agree - I couldn't put this down when I read it. Simple and beautiful, and also quite shocking.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I did that tag - though some of the books were of poetry! I think I did it in May...
ReplyDeleteYes - here it is:in May
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris. That's another few for my list.
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