Me and You

Lorenzo Cuni is an odd one. He's never fit in. Sometimes he cares, sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he tries, sometimes he doesn't. During one eventful week in high school, he finds he has the opportunity to go on a ski trip with "friends" but it's not exactly the ski trip his parents think he's having. It becomes the week where he grows up and the week where he begins to understand what life is really about. In a few days he finds he has to fight his own (and other's) demons.

The summary above (which was difficult to do without major spoilers) does not do this little Italian novel justice. Lorenzo is a troubled kid and as the story unfolds you find out about the family dynamics and what seems to be going well and what seems to be awry. show more I'm always interested in novels from other countries. The point of view is different and a casual sentence here or there reveals a look into another culture and another way of viewing the world. So much is said and revealed in this novel in such a short space.

There are serious issues brought up in this novel and interactions between people that make you think. The discussion questions in the back were interesting, also. Is the central theme authenticity of self? (To be honest, I wasn't really considering that when I read the book, only after confronted with the reader's guide.) Why is it so important to be considered "normal"? And then the final question was to think if the novel was tragic or hopeful and I had to say: both. show less

A rivetting novella or long short story which I read in about an hour and half, never once turning my eyes from the page. Lorenzo is a classic Ammaniti adolescent - clumsy, unsure of himself, and in this case a loner. But he's about to be catapulted into the world of adults. Hiding in the cellar whilst faking a week's skiing holiday with the popular and successful kids at school, he's amazed and distressed when his half sister Olivia, who he's met once, arrives looking for her possessions - and then decides to stay. What follows in the next few days (which is hard to discuss without spoiling it - its only a very short piece) is for Lorenzo a vision and premonition of his own future - he has a moment of clarity in which he can see a show more different short and long term future to his current miserable lonely existence. Can he take the chance?

This is a great piece of work. Lorenzo, Olivia and their parents are brought to life beautifully in a few short paragraphs. Ammaniti is a genius show less

Questo libricino si legge molto velocemente soprattutto per il suo esiguo numero di pagine :).
A me è piaciuto molto, è una storia tenera, un po' inverosimile ma comunque mi ha emozionato. E poi Ammaniti a me piace tanto e lo leggo sempre con piacere. Inoltre il fatto che sia riuscito a far evolvere il protagonista in così poche pagine credo sia da valutare positivamente in quanto non la ritengo una cosa così banale.
Certo, il prezzo è un po' elevato e forse se lo si riesce a prendere in biblioteca lo si apprezza molto di più :)

14-year-old Lorenzo has always been an outsider, despite his parents' efforts to goad him into having friends and fitting in. When he tries to make points with his mother by telling her he's been invited on a ski trip with a popular group at school, she's so thrilled he can't bring himself to tell her the truth. Instead, he holes up in the basement of their apartment building for a week of uninterrupted "Lorenzo" time, free from adults and peer pressure. Instead, he's interrupted by a half-sister he barely knows, and he experiences changes which will forever alter his picture of himself in the world.

Told between the bookends of Lorenzo's life at 24, the story's importance is shown in the final few pages, when he finally goes to see his show more sister again. Sweet, funny, and sad, all in one. show less

La storia minima di due adolescenti, due dei tipici adolescenti disturbati prodotto di una tipicissima famiglia borghese, iperprotettiva e asfissiante. Due diversi modi di ribellarsi, di cercare la propria identità. Dal confronto tra i due uno solo troverà la sua vera identità e la sua via alla salvezza.
Piccolo romanzo di formazione, veramente minimo e veramente molto bello.

Several years ago I read and loved I'm Not Scared, (which is on the 1001 list), so when I saw this I picked it up. This book was similar, but not as substantial, and had a much more YA feel to it. Loner Lorenzo is 14 and having a difficult time fitting in. To make his mother feel better about his social issues, he tells her he has been invited on a week long ski trip. He plans to hide in the basement playing video games for the duration. All is going as planned until his older (estranged) half-sister shows up, and she's in trouble.

While I highly recommend I'm Not Scared, this was not my cup of tea.
2 1/2 stars

Il romanzo parte presentandoci Lorenzo, un ragazzino in conflitto con se stesso e con la persona che deve far finta di essere per poter rientrare nei canoni di normalità richiesti dai suoi genitori (e dal resto della società). Proprio un suo tentativo maldestro di "far parte del gruppo" lo constringe a nascondersi in cantina per una settimana...ma la sua vacanza viene interrotta da Olivia, la sorellastra che non vede da anni e la cui esistenza costituisce una sorta di tabù per la famiglia.

Il libro mi è piaciuto soprattutto per il modo in cui ha affrontato due temi importanti e di grande attualità ma, allo stesso tempo, finendo di leggerlo, sono rimasta con la sensazione che mancasse qualcosa...