Accabadora by Michela Murgia (translated from the Italian by Silvester Mazzarella)

Accabadora is about adoption.  It’s also a coming of age story and a mother-daughter drama.  It’s about choices, consequences and secrets… about being allowed to die with dignity… about the collision between the old and the new.   Accabadora is about a lot of things, most of which don’t have much in common with each other.  And while, overall, Michela Murgia has put out a … Continue reading Accabadora by Michela Murgia (translated from the Italian by Silvester Mazzarella)

The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri (translated from the original Italian by Stephen Sartarelli)

Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montalbano series consists of nineteen novels and four short story collections – fourteen of which have been translated into English.  There was an Italian TV series that ran for 1999 to 2008.  All in all, it looks to have been hugely successful. But as experience and the Twilight series have taught us – success does not always equal quality. Fortunately for Camilleri, … Continue reading The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri (translated from the original Italian by Stephen Sartarelli)

In the Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda (translated from Italian by Howard Curtis)

The extended title of Fabio Geda’s novel In the Sea There Are Crocodiles is Based on the True Story of Enaiatollah Akbari.  Geda explains in his introduction – the events are true, but because “Enaiatollah didn’t remember it all perfectly… this book must be considered fiction, since it is a recreation of Enaiatollah’s experience – a recreation that has allowed him to take possession of his … Continue reading In the Sea There Are Crocodiles by Fabio Geda (translated from Italian by Howard Curtis)