Tell Me About It
Published on 2. June 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
140 pages
978-1-78770-380-3 (ISBN)
Description
A HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL STORY OF UNDYING LOVE
"A delightful story of the muddled, confusing time of love after loss."-Booklist
Nives has recently lost her husband of fifty years. She didn't cry when she found him dead in the pig pen, she didn't cry at the funeral, but now loneliness has set in. When she decides to bring her favourite chicken inside for company, she is surprised to discover that the chicken's company is a more than adequate replacement for her dead husband.
But one day, Giacomina goes stiff in front of the tv. Unable to rouse the paralysed chicken, Nives has no choice but to call the town veterinarian, Loriano Bottai, an old acquaintance of hers. What follows is a phone call that seems to last a lifetime, a phone call that becomes a novel. Their conversation veers from the chicken to the past-to the life they once shared, the secrets they never had the courage to reveal, wounds that never healed.
Tell Me About It reverberates with the kinds of stories we tell ourselves at night when we cannot sleep: stories of love lost, of abandonment, of silent and heart-breaking nostalgia, of joy, laughter, and despair. With delicate yet sharp prose and raw, astonishing honesty, Naspini bravely explores the core of our shared humanity.
"A delightful story of the muddled, confusing time of love after loss."-Booklist
Nives has recently lost her husband of fifty years. She didn't cry when she found him dead in the pig pen, she didn't cry at the funeral, but now loneliness has set in. When she decides to bring her favourite chicken inside for company, she is surprised to discover that the chicken's company is a more than adequate replacement for her dead husband.
But one day, Giacomina goes stiff in front of the tv. Unable to rouse the paralysed chicken, Nives has no choice but to call the town veterinarian, Loriano Bottai, an old acquaintance of hers. What follows is a phone call that seems to last a lifetime, a phone call that becomes a novel. Their conversation veers from the chicken to the past-to the life they once shared, the secrets they never had the courage to reveal, wounds that never healed.
Tell Me About It reverberates with the kinds of stories we tell ourselves at night when we cannot sleep: stories of love lost, of abandonment, of silent and heart-breaking nostalgia, of joy, laughter, and despair. With delicate yet sharp prose and raw, astonishing honesty, Naspini bravely explores the core of our shared humanity.
Reviews / Votes
"A slim, sharply pointed knife of a novel." * Kirkus Reviews * "This delightful and affecting novella affirms the truth of Emily Dickinson's famous line: 'Hope is the thing with feathers." * NPR's Fresh Air *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
158 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78770-380-3 (9781787703803)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sacha Naspini was born in 1976 in Grosseto, a town in Southern Tuscany. He has worked as an editor, art director, and screenwriter, and is the author of numerous novels and short stories which have been translated into several languages. Tell Me About It is his first novel to appear in English.
Clarissa Botsford studied at Cambridge and Comparative Education in London before moving to Rome. She currently teaches English and Translation Studies at Roma Tre University. She translates contemporary Italian fiction and poetry.
Clarissa Botsford studied at Cambridge and Comparative Education in London before moving to Rome. She currently teaches English and Translation Studies at Roma Tre University. She translates contemporary Italian fiction and poetry.