I'm Not Scared

It begins with the discovery, by young Michele, of something horrific which is all his own secret. But he’s mistaken and what he thinks is horrific is much, much worse. To cap it all, it’s not a secret at all.

Written in melodic prose from the perspective of a young child, this Italian novel has one of the best endings of a novel you could wish for. That’s not all though; it’s captivating right from the start. I read it in one sitting (well, lying actually as I was in bed with a horrible cold). I don’t think I’m the only person who will have read this in one go.

I’ve not read a novel from the rural south of Italy before and I really appreciated the way that Ammaniti brings the countryside to life along with the characters. show more Despite there being inches of snow on the ground outside, I felt hot as he described the brutal summer heat.

The importance of the novel lies in the way that Michele’s world changes from the opening to the ending. One by one all his values are challenged. I think Ammaniti has achieved this very well. The novel is well titled as the book is really about fear and how we handle our fears as we grow. Michele starts out fearing monsters, bullies, his parents, even his own reactions. But he deals with each of these fears in various ways throughout the novel and I liked the way Ammaniti gave him different strategies for overcoming each of the fears he faces.

Good novel to start the year with! show less

I’m Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti is a coming of age story, a suspense-thriller and a tale of shattered innocence. I was drawn into this story immediately by first the setting, the hot dry summer of 1978 rural Italy, and then the story of a group of children wandering the countryside on a hot afternoon who discover a deserted farmhouse. One of these children, nine year old Michele, uncovers a secret so immense, it is beyond his immediate comprehension.

The author has captured the actions and thoughts of a child who has stumbled into a dangerous adult situation that he doesn’t understand. Throughout the book, the child’s confusion, his not being able to separate the fantasy from the truth, keeps the reader on edge. As the boy show more learns more about the situation and how the adults around him react, he realizes that he can longer ignore the facts and he needs to act immediately placing himself in extreme danger.

I’m Not Scared had all the elements that I enjoy in a book. The story unfolds at a fast pace and builds to an exciting climax. Although a short book, the author supplies some beautiful descriptions and the story never felt particularly rushed. His portrayal of a nine year old’s inner thoughts felt absolutely authentic, and reading of innocence lost with no expectation of redemption made this a very dark read that I devoured as well as introducing me to an author that I fully intend to read more of. show less

The story is told by a nine-year-old Italian boy, Michele, who lives in a tiny establishment (it can't even be called a village because it's only a row of 5 houses) called Acqua Traverso. One day while he and his group of friends are out biking and exploring the surrounding areas on their own, they discover an abandoned house and Michele makes a further discovery of his own in the house - a boy's body in a hidden area. Michele doesn't tell his friends about it, but he can't stop thinking about it either - is the boy dead or alive? How did he get there? Should Michele tell anyone about it, and if so, who?

It's a short book (only 200 pages in hardcover) but there is a lot of story packed into it. The beginning is a taste of what you'll get show more from the reading experience: you're dropped into a vivid scene of friends racing in the heat of the day during one of the hottest summers in memory. Michele wants to win, but he is also supposed to look after his younger sister, who seems to always need something from him at inopportune moments. The narration really captures the flavor of being young; thinking you understand things but still open to magical explanations, the first forays into adult decisions and the betrayals and compromises those entail.

Recommended for: people who remember childhood for its freedom and its accompanying confusions

Quote: "But even then I knew that someone always gets all the bad luck. During those days it was Barbara Mura, the fat girl, she was the lamb that took away the sins." show less

It is the hottest summer on record, and a group of children in a tiny impoverished hamlet in southern Italy amuse themselves with games and roving the countryside on their bikes, while the adults stay inside to escape the heat. 9-year old Michele is somewhere near the middle of the hierarchy of this group. On one of their excursions, the kids discover an abandoned farmhouse in a secluded valley. On a dare, Michele goes into the farmhouse, where he discovers a body. He tells no one, and as the days unfold the facade of adult morality which has protected Michele begins to crack. Michele's creeping loss of innocence is brilliantly conveyed, as he is placed in unbearable circumstances, with no one to trust.

This coming-of-age novel show more realistically portrays the innocence and horrors of childhood. The landscape shimmers to life. And, as in life, it accepts that there are no easy answers, as it ends on an ambiguous but tragic note.
Recommended. show less

I picked this book up at a yard sale a couple of years ago and then, upon noticing the "Translated from Italian" bit, put it on the shelf and never thought of it again. I don't know why, but I have this inane aversion to translated things, often picturing them as old and dry and lacking any flourish. How wrong I was! I loved this book -- I loved the imagery and depth of the characters (ah, flourish!), the realistic portrayal of Michele's feelings and behaviors as a nine-year-old harnessed with an unimaginable burden. From the first page to the unexpected ending, this novel kept my attention and persuaded me to view translated literature in a more respectable light. Now to check out the movie...

Michele lives in a small village composed of just a few small houses in southern Italy, the "poor half" of the country as his father says, and so he lives a very simple and sheltered life. During an oppressive heat wave the children of the village find themselves exploring an abandoned farm house, where MIchele makes a horrific discovery that will shatters his innocent view of the world. His father warns him to stop worrying about monsters, it's men you have to be afraid of, and throughout the book he comes to realize just how true that is.

This is a wonderful book, it really and truly is, but there were 2 major issues that irritated me enough to drop a star off the rating. It should be a 4-star book, dammit! But I just can't do it. When show more Michele makes his discovery in the farmhouse all I could think was how odd the other children were behaving. The ending is also awful, and by that I mean it's nonexistent. Okay, yes, I totally understand why some authors use open endings to let their readers decide what happens next, but man, it's so not cool to do that in a suspense novel. You are built up and built up and you eagerly rush through the novel...and then you are just left hanging. Oh, how infuriating!!!

Otherwise it's a wonderful book. It really and truly is. show less

Nine-year-old Michele Amitrano and his friends have little to do one very hot summer besides explore the Italian countryside around them. When the leader of their little gang, Skull, forces Michele to go off on his own in an abandoned house after a forfeit, he makes a discovery that is destined to change his perception of his friends, family, and life itself.

The outside of this book promised that it would be scary, but it wasn’t at all in the way that I’d expected, and to be honest I vastly preferred what I got to what I expected. Rather than a scary book in superficial ways, this is a book about human nature, about a boy discovering what adults can do to other little boys just like him. Michele’s loss of his childhood innocence show more is totally heartbreaking, but riveting. I can understand why this book kept others up all night to find out what happens next. I myself read it in just one day. It’s a very absorbing read.

This is also a beautifully written book. I don’t know whether to give credit to the author or the translator, but I could feel the heat of that Italian summer, see the wheat fields and the abandoned farmhouse, just as I could see inside Michele’s realistically wrought child mind. Michele is almost unbelievably genuine, which of course only adds to the emotional impact of the book, especially the ending. He watches as the people he trusted turn out to be fallible, which everyone realizes eventually, but hardly in this way. And of course it isn’t only the adults he’s already wary of, but those he loves and trusts.

From the adults’ perspective, I think the novel shows the desperation people have to make their lives better. Apparently crimes of this type (I’m being vague, but I think it’s worth not knowing) are still commonplace, and that only makes it all sadder. They want to move to northern Italy, which is richer, but it seems they’ll do almost anything to achieve it. I was left wondering if it was worth the sacrifice, and perhaps glad that at least one of the adults may have finally realized the amount of harm he was doing.

I would definitely recommend I’m Not Scared to anyone with an interest in thoughtful thrillers. It’s a gripping read with strong emotional impact that will leave you considering what happened for days afterwards. I’m looking forward to my next book by Ammaniti.

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