Julian Gallo

First novel from this Sardinian author. An impressive debut. Short and sweet, clocking in at a mere 108 pages. It is a story about an unnamed woman who reflect on the life of her grandmother, an eccentric woman, coming of age in Cagliari. By the time the American bombs fall during the war years, she is already thirty years old, considered an “old maid”, still living with her parents. After the bombings cease, her father demands that she marry the first man to propose to her. Despite her protests, it is to an older widower who she doesn’t love. After several miscarriages she is sent off to a spa for treatment, where she meets and falls in love with a wounded Italian serviceman. Nine months later, she gives birth to a son. She returns home, never revealing the affair. Many years later, she returns to her former lover’s hometown in order to search for him. But there is a very interesting twist here, one that you will never see coming. Follow this all through the landscape of Sardinia, it’s culture and its people. The novel is a tribute to storytelling and once you discover the twist, you’ll see why and how it is.

Recommended.