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msjoanna's review against another edition
3.0
I'd never heard of this book, then suddenly I was seeing it everywhere. It's amazing how that happens sometimes. I believe this book appeared on the New York Times list of books that critics loved but expected didn't have wide readership in the US. This book should definitely find more readers. There were occasional moments of cultural or translation awkwardness that made me stumble -- such as repeated references in conversation to someone changing to dialect, or the use of the tu form of address -- but overall the book was heartfelt and readable. As a lawyer, I couldn't help noticing the lack of litigious instinct on the part of the parents. Their son, through inept use of forceps during a breech birth, has physical and linguistic disabilities. The book, more a series of memories than a chronological plot-based story, is told from the father's perspective as he examines his own reactions to his son's disabilities and the developing reactions between them.
dreesreads's review
4.0
OK, I gave it four stars. But I think this novel is truly brilliant. I do know I did not have the time to devote to thinking about it that I would have liked. Really, I would have preferred to read it in a book club setting (RL or online). And to think I picked it up off a library display because the cover is so awesome.
This Italian award-winner reads like a memoir. It is short, it is sparse, it is a first-person narration. Our narrator is the father of a boy (Paolo), who was deprived of oxygen at birth and as a result has (what seems to be but is never named) cerebral palsy.
The father, Professor Frigerio, narrates a variety of occasions: the birth itself, visits to therapists, a support group, Paolo's older brother's teasing, relationships with his in-laws and mother, Paolo at school, a crooked elementary principal, a trip to Greece, trips to the store.
Within these narrations you get glimpses of the meat of the story--is the professor angry at his wife and her mother for refusing and not demanding a c-section? How does he feel about his own pushing of Paolo through exercises? Through demanding that he walk? How does he feel about the others in his support group? Is he embarrassed to take his son out? He wants to recognize that Paolo is his own, intelligent person--but doesn't seem ready to let go. All of this would be so great for discussion.
This Italian award-winner reads like a memoir. It is short, it is sparse, it is a first-person narration. Our narrator is the father of a boy (Paolo), who was deprived of oxygen at birth and as a result has (what seems to be but is never named) cerebral palsy.
The father, Professor Frigerio, narrates a variety of occasions: the birth itself, visits to therapists, a support group, Paolo's older brother's teasing, relationships with his in-laws and mother, Paolo at school, a crooked elementary principal, a trip to Greece, trips to the store.
Within these narrations you get glimpses of the meat of the story--is the professor angry at his wife and her mother for refusing and not demanding a c-section? How does he feel about his own pushing of Paolo through exercises? Through demanding that he walk? How does he feel about the others in his support group? Is he embarrassed to take his son out? He wants to recognize that Paolo is his own, intelligent person--but doesn't seem ready to let go. All of this would be so great for discussion.
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