It’s 1960. Optimistic Francesca has been assigned to help the tiny mountain village of Santa Chionia. Her mother was Calabrian. She knows the language and she has the confidence of the international relief organization she is working with. She has every reason to believe, with a bit of elbow grease and little persuasion, she will be able to open a daycare center and kindergarten.
Santa Chionia is rich is natural beauty and tenacity, but little else. Regular mudslides and floods scar the rocky landscape. Just after Francesca arrives another massive storm takes out the rickety bridge to the next village. It also washes away the post office, revealing a skeleton buried in the foundation.
As Francesca gets to know the villagers, she will have to face her naivete. But in a town with no running water, no telephone, no secure food source, she doesn’t understand why elders won’t contact authorities to find out who the skeleton is. People shrug or tell her that’s not how things work around her. And a dead body is only the first concerning incident.
We are a humble people, maestra.” Don Tito the Wolf corrected me gently, as he might speak to a wayward granddaughter. “We are shepherds, the sons and daughters of shepherds. We mind our own business.” I felt the other men’s eyes on me. As if to soften the blow, he offered, “I am sure she wishes you well in your work.” ~Pg. 41
The novel is written in the first person, as Francesca recalls her months in Calabria. The strength is in Francesca’s voice. She is funny and full of rich descriptions. Her memories of the hardscrabble town clawing to the side of a mountain are vibrant. The characters were drawn with a sharp, dark charcoal pencil — impressionistic in style but specific and bold.
Less strong was the overall strength of plot. I found the initial third of the book highly compelling in a number of ways. The unravelling of complicated village structures, the friction of various character outlooks, and Francesca’s very stubborn personality driving things along. By the midpoint, the story loses a great deal of energy. It picks up again towards the end, but it never quite reaches the same perfect pitch of sharp observation, kindly humor, and uneasy puzzlement.
Despite my disappointment, it is a solid novel overall. The writing and imagery is strong and the story is original.
My thanks to Knopf for the review copy.
Publisher: Knopf (July 23, 2024)
Language: English
Hardcover: 416 pages
ISBN-10: 0593536177