Viareggio Prize (Premio Viareggio / Premio Letterario Viareggio-Rèpaci)
I'm Not Scared
Set in rural southern Italy, the novel follows a nine-year-old boy who stumbles onto a secret that exposes the clash between innocence and violence. The fierce summer light and the child's point of view sustain the tension to the end.
Work Information
Through a child's gaze, it moves toward the cruelty waiting beyond the summer horizon.
Niccolò Ammaniti sets the heat of a southern Italian summer around Michele's point of view, tracing the outline of secret and fear. It is a suspense novel that confronts adult cruelty through a child's senses.
Review Summaries
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Readers highly praise the child's-eye handling of fear and discovery. The summer atmosphere and the gradual approach to the truth win strong support.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Anchor
- Published
- 2004-01-06
- Pages
- 208 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.11 x 1.47 x 20.27 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781400075638
- ISBN-10
- 1400075637
- Price
- 2956 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Mystery & Thrillers/Mystery
“Stop all this talk about monsters, Michele. Monsters don’t exist. It’s men you should be afraid of, not monsters.” A sweltering heat wave hits a tiny village in Southern Italy, sending the adults to seek shelter, while their children bicycle freely throughout the countryside, playing games and getting into trouble. On a dare, nine-year-old Michele Amitrano enters an old, abandoned farmhouse, where he stumbles upon a secret so terrible that he can’t tell anybody. As the truth emerges, Michele learns that the horror in the creepy old house is closer to home than he ever imagined. A widely acclaimed international bestseller, I’m Not Scared is a spine-tingling novel that combines a coming of age narrative with a satisfying, enthralling story of suspense.
Niccolo Ammaniti was born in Rome in 1966. This is his third novel and he has also published a collection of stories. At thirty-four, he was the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Viareggio-Repaci prize for I’m Not Scared which has already been sold into twenty languages.
Reviews
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I enjoyed the book for many reasons: - the I-perspective of a 9 year old boy telling his story - how he kept truthful to his heart and conscience until the very end despite despite his fear - the dense atmosphere of this village during a very hot summer - the way the author merely describes the adult's cruelty without apparent judgement (because Michele does not judge, he just questions) - the unexpected and kind of open end. A very good read and some food for thought.
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A week written book that had me gripped from the beginning but I was disappointed with the ending. I needed more.
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Bello il libro, usato ma come nuovo
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super
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This is definitely not a children’s book even though it is written from the perspective of a young child. It is a wonderful book set in rural Italy. There is suspense and wonderfully rounded characters. A great book.