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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Crazy intense enjoyed it so much
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Romanzo crudo e drammatico. Romanzo di crescita, di iniziazione. Un'esperienza al limite, ma esemplare per riflettere sulle paure dell'infanzia, sulla caduta dei miti che avvolgono la figura dei genitori, non più onnipotenti e nemmeno, più semplicemente, modelli da seguire, sulla scelta che non ammette accomodamenti e soluzioni scontate tra il bene e il male, tra il guardare la sofferenza dell'altro e volgere lo sguardo o farsene, in qualche modo, carico. Romanzo duro, costruito sulle voci anche violente di adulti e bambini di estrazione popolare, in cui l'adulto è assente non solo come figura fisica ma come figura di riferimento, come modello di comportamento etico e civile. Testo di apparente facile lettura, ma, in realtà, giocato sull'assunto che la realtà "vera" è spesso dietro le cose e che occorre avere molto coraggio (o, meglio, "non avere paura") per guardarla, così come bisogna non farsi vincere dalla forza del male per poterlo guardare direttamente in faccia e vincerlo.
During a sweltering summer in a small Italian village, young Michele is forced to confront his world and leave his childhood innocence behind. I will say no more. I read the book in two parts, because once Michele makes his disturbing discovery, you will not be able to put this book down.
This got so well reviewed on Between the Covers I was expecting to be really gripped, but was generally underwhelmed.
The book is well written and creates a great sense of place, weather and believable characters but this was not enough to compensate for weak plotting, IMO.
I didn’t quite believe in the whole set up or some of the behaviours of the two young boys. There was sexism and sizism that felt out dated too, possibly forgivable as the book was published in 2001.
Details like the wash bears got me thinking this was going some clever mishearing by Filippo and a vital plot twist but just turned out to be, well nothing, just wash bears.
Disappointing.
The book is well written and creates a great sense of place, weather and believable characters but this was not enough to compensate for weak plotting, IMO.
I didn’t quite believe in the whole set up or some of the behaviours of the two young boys. There was sexism and sizism that felt out dated too, possibly forgivable as the book was published in 2001.
Disappointing.
Woah... okay... I read this pretty much because it is on the suggested texts list for senior English in South Australia and I'm doing research for our school's class texts. So reading this was, like, technically work for me. But far out this was an intense, compelling, and kinda heartbreaking read. I had early vibes of Jasper Jones and later vibes of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas... so there is a lot of innocence lost in this story. A great read in my opinion.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A