Cosimah2o
Active Member
● Io non ho paura ●
In the overwhelming summer heat of 1978, Michele Amitrano is nine-years old and he lives in the tiny hamlet Acqua Traverse, an unidentified region in southern Italy, composed of a clutch of houses encircled by vast expanses of wheat-fields. "Two houses on one side, two on the other and a road, rough and full of holes, in the middle."
While the grown-ups take refuge indoors behind drawn blinds because there is no source of fresh water in Acqua Traverse, Michele Amitrano is trudging about through the drought wheat fields in the stifling heat, keeping an eye on his five-year-old sister, Maria.
Nothing much seems to be happening, the children are glad to get together every day to go cycling in the middle of the wheat fields, happily, innocently and without any worries but one day playing with his 5 friends during a dare to race up a remote hilltop, Michele stumbles upon a sight that the others don't see: near a dilapidated farmhouse he finds an emaciated boy his own age called Filipo, chained in a hole hidden under a sheet of corrugated iron and a mattress.
Michele keeps his discovery as a secret, he tries to figure out who this boy is, who put him there, and why. But this secret he knows which seems to involve all the village's adults.
After the first discovery of the body in the hole, Michele suffers a nightmare. Throughout the story, Michele desperately searches for answers to help him unravel the mystery behind Filippo's imprisonment. At first he fantasizes that the child in the hole is a demented twin sibling who was hidden by his unhappy parents so as not to frighten everyone. ( His mind is full of childhood fantasies; he is still an innocent lad who looks up to his father. )
Michele remembers his father's words: “Monsters don't exist. It's men you should be afraid of, not monsters”, then he tries to ease the burden of Filippo's inhumane and monstruous treatment. During one encounter, he tenderly wipes the scabs from his eyes to allow him to see again and even takes him out of his prison so that he can breathe a little fresh air.
Michele will be thrown into adulthood when he loses his innocence and his faith in the adults around him, and realises that those closest to him are not what he thought they were.
The whole novel is narrated through the nine year-old Michele's eyes, therefore the language is simple, the sentences short, the paragraphs brief and the image clear, which conveys strength and authenticity to the narration. The author writes with great accuracy the feeling of fear and fantasies of corpse-eaters, ghosts, monsters, and bogeymen that come out at night, which are part of everyday life of a child. The strongest element of the novel is the claustrophobic nature of the tiny town and all the pettiness it breeds.
The main character Michele, is definitely endearing, especially with how he treats his sister, loves his parents and endangers himself in order to help in a disturbing situation.
The "disturbing situation" about the kidnapped boy Filipo is heart-wrenching. Not only does the author capture the painfulness of the situation in a subtle, understated manner, he also explores the psychological suffering of all involved.
Ammaniti excelled in capturing with great precision, Michele's childish thoughts and vocabulary. The story starts in a slow rhythm which conveys the stifling summer heat and also the isolation of the Aqua Traverse people.
In the overwhelming summer heat of 1978, Michele Amitrano is nine-years old and he lives in the tiny hamlet Acqua Traverse, an unidentified region in southern Italy, composed of a clutch of houses encircled by vast expanses of wheat-fields. "Two houses on one side, two on the other and a road, rough and full of holes, in the middle."
While the grown-ups take refuge indoors behind drawn blinds because there is no source of fresh water in Acqua Traverse, Michele Amitrano is trudging about through the drought wheat fields in the stifling heat, keeping an eye on his five-year-old sister, Maria.
Nothing much seems to be happening, the children are glad to get together every day to go cycling in the middle of the wheat fields, happily, innocently and without any worries but one day playing with his 5 friends during a dare to race up a remote hilltop, Michele stumbles upon a sight that the others don't see: near a dilapidated farmhouse he finds an emaciated boy his own age called Filipo, chained in a hole hidden under a sheet of corrugated iron and a mattress.
Michele keeps his discovery as a secret, he tries to figure out who this boy is, who put him there, and why. But this secret he knows which seems to involve all the village's adults.
After the first discovery of the body in the hole, Michele suffers a nightmare. Throughout the story, Michele desperately searches for answers to help him unravel the mystery behind Filippo's imprisonment. At first he fantasizes that the child in the hole is a demented twin sibling who was hidden by his unhappy parents so as not to frighten everyone. ( His mind is full of childhood fantasies; he is still an innocent lad who looks up to his father. )
Michele remembers his father's words: “Monsters don't exist. It's men you should be afraid of, not monsters”, then he tries to ease the burden of Filippo's inhumane and monstruous treatment. During one encounter, he tenderly wipes the scabs from his eyes to allow him to see again and even takes him out of his prison so that he can breathe a little fresh air.
Michele will be thrown into adulthood when he loses his innocence and his faith in the adults around him, and realises that those closest to him are not what he thought they were.
The whole novel is narrated through the nine year-old Michele's eyes, therefore the language is simple, the sentences short, the paragraphs brief and the image clear, which conveys strength and authenticity to the narration. The author writes with great accuracy the feeling of fear and fantasies of corpse-eaters, ghosts, monsters, and bogeymen that come out at night, which are part of everyday life of a child. The strongest element of the novel is the claustrophobic nature of the tiny town and all the pettiness it breeds.
The main character Michele, is definitely endearing, especially with how he treats his sister, loves his parents and endangers himself in order to help in a disturbing situation.
The "disturbing situation" about the kidnapped boy Filipo is heart-wrenching. Not only does the author capture the painfulness of the situation in a subtle, understated manner, he also explores the psychological suffering of all involved.
Ammaniti excelled in capturing with great precision, Michele's childish thoughts and vocabulary. The story starts in a slow rhythm which conveys the stifling summer heat and also the isolation of the Aqua Traverse people.
Absolutely a must read 
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