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Trilogia della Patria #1
Soul of the Border
The first novel in a trilogy set on the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century. A young woman seeks the truth behind her father's disappearance.
Every year, Augusto De Boer undertakes a treacherous journey through the Italian Alps, smuggling his family's tobacco crop across the border to Austria. With conditions getting harsher, he decides to take his fifteen-year-old daughter Jole along with him, teaching her how to navigate the perilous crags and valleys while avoiding the nocturnal beasts and hostile customs officers.
Three years later, Jole must retrace their steps alone: her father has not returned from the border. With only her horse for company, she makes her way across the starkly beautiful mountain landscape, hoping to provide sustenance for her family and discover the truth about her father's disappearance.
Bursting with hope and despair, Soul of the Border is a lyrical coming-of-age story about revenge, salvation, and a ferocious journey into the wild.
Every year, Augusto De Boer undertakes a treacherous journey through the Italian Alps, smuggling his family's tobacco crop across the border to Austria. With conditions getting harsher, he decides to take his fifteen-year-old daughter Jole along with him, teaching her how to navigate the perilous crags and valleys while avoiding the nocturnal beasts and hostile customs officers.
Three years later, Jole must retrace their steps alone: her father has not returned from the border. With only her horse for company, she makes her way across the starkly beautiful mountain landscape, hoping to provide sustenance for her family and discover the truth about her father's disappearance.
Bursting with hope and despair, Soul of the Border is a lyrical coming-of-age story about revenge, salvation, and a ferocious journey into the wild.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
7 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Matteo Righetto
26 books32 followersMatteo Righetto è nato nel 1972 a Padova, dove insegna Lettere. Ha pubblicato Savana Padana (TEA, 2012), La pelle dell'orso (Guanda, 2013), da cui è stato tratto un film con Marco Paolini per la regia di Marco Segato, Apri gli occhi (TEA, 2016, vincitore del Premio della Montagna Cortina d'Ampezzo) e Dove porta la neve (TEA, 2017). Scrive articoli di cultura per Il Foglio. I suoi libri sono stati tradotti in diverse lingue e, in particolare, L'anima della frontiera è diventato un caso letterario con traduzioni già avviate in molti paesi, tra cui Gran Bretagna, Australia, Canada, Germania e Olanda, prima ancora della sua pubblicazione in Italia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
November 9, 2018
4.5 stars!
To see my full review, please visit my blog: https://umutreviews.wordpress.com/201...
I loved this book for many reasons, but most importantly because it moved so many emotions in me. Its very precise and powerful writing doesn’t linger on with too many pages. It strikes you right at the core, and I think this is what so many authors forgot today: Less is More.
I read good & bad people, revenge & salvation, strength & fear, family & friendship, poverty and survival, cruelty & mercy…All in this little book of 200 pages. My heart was beating for brave Jole faster and faster through the end. I find her to be a very likeable, strong and naive heroine. She will be one of the female leads I will never forget about.
If you love literary/historical fiction with a good mystery, beautiful writing with depth, a strong female lead to care for, then it’s your book.
All in all, I thought this book was fantastic. I flew through especially the second half. It surprised me, took me through so many emotions and left me deep in my thoughts…
To see my full review, please visit my blog: https://umutreviews.wordpress.com/201...
I loved this book for many reasons, but most importantly because it moved so many emotions in me. Its very precise and powerful writing doesn’t linger on with too many pages. It strikes you right at the core, and I think this is what so many authors forgot today: Less is More.
I read good & bad people, revenge & salvation, strength & fear, family & friendship, poverty and survival, cruelty & mercy…All in this little book of 200 pages. My heart was beating for brave Jole faster and faster through the end. I find her to be a very likeable, strong and naive heroine. She will be one of the female leads I will never forget about.
If you love literary/historical fiction with a good mystery, beautiful writing with depth, a strong female lead to care for, then it’s your book.
All in all, I thought this book was fantastic. I flew through especially the second half. It surprised me, took me through so many emotions and left me deep in my thoughts…
May 8, 2019
Contrabbandieri, foreste impervie e montagne da valicare: Matteo Righetto apre una finestra su aspetti che non conoscevo e cioè la coltivazione del tabacco in Veneto (sicuramente, in qualche momento della mia vita scolastica, questa informazione sarà transitata attraverso le mie orecchie ma non ha lasciato alcuna traccia!). Ho trovato molto interessante la descrizione della difficile vita dei contadini che, agli albori dell’unità d’Italia, lo coltivavano per conto dello Stato così come gli scorci, veloci ma indelebili, delle condizioni dei minatori della Val Primiera (oggi in Trentino, all’epoca del romanzo nell’Impero austro-ungarico).
Lavorazione del tabacco in Veneto.
A me è sembrato, comunque, che la vera protagonista del romanzo sia la natura, mai indifferente e neutrale ma in sintonia con lo stato d’animo dei personaggi: il viaggio tra la Val di Sesia (dove i De Boer vivono) e la Val Primiera è insidioso, difficile e, allo stesso tempo, ricco di meraviglie che si imprimono nel cuore di chi, suo malgrado, deve affrontare quel percorso per riuscire a integrare lo scarso guadagno derivante dalla coltivazione del tabacco.
Minatori della miniera di Monteneve, che sino al 1967 (anno della chiusura) era la più alta d’Europa (2.000-2.500 metri slm).
Il racconto ha spesso il tono della favola: tante sono le difficoltà che i nostri eroi devono affrontare affiancati, magari per brevi tratti, da presenze umane e animali, dai quali ricevere aiuto o un insegnamento che sarà necessario per la loro cresciuta personale. La caratterizzazione dei personaggi, in coerenza con il tono fiabesco, è appena abbozzata e appiattita su una delle dimensioni della polarità buono/cattivo.
Le Pale di S. Martino nelle Dolomiti tra il Trentino e il Veneto
La frontiera appare quasi personificata nella voce del vento che soffia incessantemente sul ghiaione che segna il confine tra l’Italia e l’Austria ma, al di là dell’affermazione che le frontiere non dovrebbero esistere perché sono artifici creati dagli uomini, non mi sembra che il tema venga sviluppato in maniera articolata e (almeno per me) interessante.
Lavorazione del tabacco in Veneto.
A me è sembrato, comunque, che la vera protagonista del romanzo sia la natura, mai indifferente e neutrale ma in sintonia con lo stato d’animo dei personaggi: il viaggio tra la Val di Sesia (dove i De Boer vivono) e la Val Primiera è insidioso, difficile e, allo stesso tempo, ricco di meraviglie che si imprimono nel cuore di chi, suo malgrado, deve affrontare quel percorso per riuscire a integrare lo scarso guadagno derivante dalla coltivazione del tabacco.
Minatori della miniera di Monteneve, che sino al 1967 (anno della chiusura) era la più alta d’Europa (2.000-2.500 metri slm).
Il racconto ha spesso il tono della favola: tante sono le difficoltà che i nostri eroi devono affrontare affiancati, magari per brevi tratti, da presenze umane e animali, dai quali ricevere aiuto o un insegnamento che sarà necessario per la loro cresciuta personale. La caratterizzazione dei personaggi, in coerenza con il tono fiabesco, è appena abbozzata e appiattita su una delle dimensioni della polarità buono/cattivo.
Le Pale di S. Martino nelle Dolomiti tra il Trentino e il Veneto
La frontiera appare quasi personificata nella voce del vento che soffia incessantemente sul ghiaione che segna il confine tra l’Italia e l’Austria ma, al di là dell’affermazione che le frontiere non dovrebbero esistere perché sono artifici creati dagli uomini, non mi sembra che il tema venga sviluppato in maniera articolata e (almeno per me) interessante.
December 9, 2017
Che cos’è un confine? Forse nient’altro che la linea immaginaria che separa popoli e lingue, ma non solo: anche una frontiera materica, fatta di boschi e cime, di torrenti e ghiaioni.
E ancora: “le vere frontiere sono quelle tra prepotenti e poveri cristi, tra chi si sollazza di cibo e potere e chi invece patisce la fame e deve spaccarsi la schiena per un pugno di polenta”. Così diceva Augusto, il padre della giovane Jole, la quale ne segue le orme, sfidando la legge e cercando una risposta.
Sarà un viaggio di iniziazione il suo, un viaggio di conoscenza, di crescita e di scoperta, per apprendere che l’anima della frontiera è anche discriminazione tra bene e male, pericoloso ciglio che separa ragione da follia. Quanto di più labile e incerto, dunque. Ma quale viaggio è mai più necessario, più significativo?
Siamo in Val Brenta, 1896. La frontiera fra Italia e Austria era destinata a cambiare. I poveri sarebbero rimasti gli stessi.
Dedicato “ai liberi, ai giusti, ai poeti, ai santi: spiriti senza frontiere”.
E ancora: “le vere frontiere sono quelle tra prepotenti e poveri cristi, tra chi si sollazza di cibo e potere e chi invece patisce la fame e deve spaccarsi la schiena per un pugno di polenta”. Così diceva Augusto, il padre della giovane Jole, la quale ne segue le orme, sfidando la legge e cercando una risposta.
Sarà un viaggio di iniziazione il suo, un viaggio di conoscenza, di crescita e di scoperta, per apprendere che l’anima della frontiera è anche discriminazione tra bene e male, pericoloso ciglio che separa ragione da follia. Quanto di più labile e incerto, dunque. Ma quale viaggio è mai più necessario, più significativo?
Siamo in Val Brenta, 1896. La frontiera fra Italia e Austria era destinata a cambiare. I poveri sarebbero rimasti gli stessi.
Dedicato “ai liberi, ai giusti, ai poeti, ai santi: spiriti senza frontiere”.
October 31, 2018
Soul Of The Border is a wonderfully complex and beautifully written novel, encompassing the strength of humanity and the harsh, unforgiving beauty of our natural world.
This story strips back human need to it’s very basic levels through the lives and struggles of the De Boer family. Augusto journeys across the border, a difficult and dangerous journey, nevertheless it is required for the very survival of his family. Daughter Jole accompanies him, learning and absorbing, but when one day her Father fails to return she sets off on a solo mission to find him.
The descriptive prose is absolutely gorgeous, absorbing you into this world with it’s simple complexity and harsh realities. The natural environment comes alive around you as you read, the characters live and breathe on the page, it is utterly compelling and hugely immersive.
Soul Of The Border has an inner soul of it’s own, one that speaks to both the heart and the head, a snapshot of a time past and as such is a simply wonderful read.
Highly Recommended.
This story strips back human need to it’s very basic levels through the lives and struggles of the De Boer family. Augusto journeys across the border, a difficult and dangerous journey, nevertheless it is required for the very survival of his family. Daughter Jole accompanies him, learning and absorbing, but when one day her Father fails to return she sets off on a solo mission to find him.
The descriptive prose is absolutely gorgeous, absorbing you into this world with it’s simple complexity and harsh realities. The natural environment comes alive around you as you read, the characters live and breathe on the page, it is utterly compelling and hugely immersive.
Soul Of The Border has an inner soul of it’s own, one that speaks to both the heart and the head, a snapshot of a time past and as such is a simply wonderful read.
Highly Recommended.
September 9, 2019
Oh dear. I really tried to like this. It sounds like it should be right up my street.
But, ultimately, it just isn't very good. Some parts are fine but whole swaths of it are really quite dreadful. Some of the attempts at deep, meaningful, enigmatic passages sound more like bad high school poetry. The characters are one-dimensional and thinly drawn.
And the amount of wild coincidences just becomes a bit ridiculous by the end - three times in about 20 pages someone important just happens to randomly be in exactly the spot in the vast Alpine region they need to be to save the main character.
But, ultimately, it just isn't very good. Some parts are fine but whole swaths of it are really quite dreadful. Some of the attempts at deep, meaningful, enigmatic passages sound more like bad high school poetry. The characters are one-dimensional and thinly drawn.
And the amount of wild coincidences just becomes a bit ridiculous by the end - three times in about 20 pages someone important just happens to randomly be in exactly the spot in the vast Alpine region they need to be to save the main character.
August 16, 2017
Il racconto delle montagne, delle nostre montagne. Ma stavolta le montagne sono davvero le nostre: Matteo Righetto ha ambientato questa storia tutt'attorno a noi. Il viaggio di Jole parte dall'Altopiano di Asiago, giusto sopra di noi; vede Tezze dove gli austriaci in quella fine d'ottocento stanno costruendo la ferrovia, quella ferrovia che passa proprio sotto casa; il viaggio continua passando per Arsiè, il mio paese e continuando in tutti i luoghi a noi noti.
Ma è soprattutto un racconto vero, di quella montagna piena di poesia ma dove la vita a quel tempo era dura e forgiava uomini rudi, dal carattere aspro. Di gente come Guglielmo erano pieni i racconti dei nostri nonni. E di come il contrabbando del tabacco fosse fonte di sopravvivenza fino a qualche decennio fa lo testimoniano ancora gli abitanti della Valbrenta.
La bravura di Righetto sta nel trasformare in letteratura questi racconti quotidiani e noti, nel farci sentire ancora vivi i sentimenti che animavano quelle genti e quei luoghi, nel farci conoscere da vicino quella frontiera che allora passava giusto per di qua, ma che talvolta si sente purtroppo come una linea invisibile che continua a dividere gli animi.
"... sperando intimamente che un giorno nessuno avrebbe più dovuto sentirsi straniero, a modo suo. Né sulle sue montagne, né in questo mondo."
Ma è soprattutto un racconto vero, di quella montagna piena di poesia ma dove la vita a quel tempo era dura e forgiava uomini rudi, dal carattere aspro. Di gente come Guglielmo erano pieni i racconti dei nostri nonni. E di come il contrabbando del tabacco fosse fonte di sopravvivenza fino a qualche decennio fa lo testimoniano ancora gli abitanti della Valbrenta.
La bravura di Righetto sta nel trasformare in letteratura questi racconti quotidiani e noti, nel farci sentire ancora vivi i sentimenti che animavano quelle genti e quei luoghi, nel farci conoscere da vicino quella frontiera che allora passava giusto per di qua, ma che talvolta si sente purtroppo come una linea invisibile che continua a dividere gli animi.
"... sperando intimamente che un giorno nessuno avrebbe più dovuto sentirsi straniero, a modo suo. Né sulle sue montagne, né in questo mondo."
June 10, 2022
Baśń z pogranicza. Ballada o przemytnikach. Oda do wolności biednych ludzi. Krótkie, dobrze napisane, ale czegoś mi tu zabrakło, może gdyby autor nie rozpisał tej historii na trzy (mikroskopijne) tomy, a po prostu napisał sagę rodzinną - wyszło by tego niewiele ponad 600 stron - inaczej oceniłbym tę książkę. A tak mamy ładnie napisaną historyjkę, z pięknymi opisami dolomitów i licznymi etnograficznymi wstawkami z życia biednych ludzi pogranicza włosko austriackiego.
October 19, 2018
“A beautiful novel that encapsulates nature at its toughest and humanity at its strongest”
The tail end of the 19th century. The Vento region of Northern Italy. This is when and where the de Boer family are living, growing tobacco and working on the mountainous terraces. Life is hard, and every year the father of the family, Augusto, undertakes a perilous journey through the Italian Alps to smuggle tobacco across the border into Austria. He decides to take his daughter Jole with him, teaching her all the skills she needs to survive this trip, such as how to navigate the rocky terrain and valleys while avoiding the nocturnal beasts and hostile customs officers. Augusto mysteriously never returns from one of these trips and it is Jole who must retrace their steps alone three years later. Accompanied only by her horse, Samson, she treks across the beautiful rugged landscape, hoping to provide for her family and discover the truth about her father’s disappearance.
The prose of this novel was absolutely beautiful and made my reading of it so much more enjoyable. The way Righetto describes people and nature is captivating; the words and sentences flow so easily that it wasn’t long before I was swept up into the story and became attached to the characters. One of my favourite elements of this book is Righetto’s descriptions of the natural landscape. It is hostile and treacherous, and as you traverse the mountains with Augusto and Jole, you feel like them on the edge of a precipice. Simultaneously, the natural world is stunning and I sometimes found it hard to believe that any plants or animals could survive and thrive in such an environment. The forests and skylines allowed me to be completely immersed in this world and the depictions of birdsong and wolves howling made my reading experience all the more atmospheric.
The character of Augusto is truly inspirational in his care and devotion to his family, especially in times of hardship. No matter how severe the weather or how unlucky the de Boers’ seem to be, Augusto’s optimism and faith never falters; he just keeps pushing forward to provide for his family. Jole’s eagerness to travel with her father on the smuggling trip was bittersweet to read; her age makes her so innocent and naïve, but also evokes a degree of respect in the reader because she’s the eldest child and therefore feels a sense of responsibility. She’s just like her father in this respect as all she wants to do is help her father to sustain her mother and siblings. Jole’s courage and bravery to journey alone is heart-warming and uplifting because she assumes the role of Augusto and seeks to discover what happened to him. Her undying belief that her father is alive is additionally touching and understandable.
The de Boer family’s way of life overall is so different to our own, not just in terms of location but also in terms of what they want in life. Shelter, food and company is all they feel they really need, and I could not help but compare my family’s life, which is fast and busy, to the de Boers’ mode of living, which is tough but simple. Such a family made me realise how ridiculously commercialised and materialistic modern life is and after reading this book, it has made me want to take a step back and reassess what’s important to me.
Righetto does not stop with just the de Boer family, however. He examines humanity as a whole, particularly when Jole is searching for her father and smuggling tobacco alone. It soon became apparent to me that the borders Righetto describes are not just geographical, but metaphorical, as he depicts people on both sides of the border between good and evil. Such a border is not so clearly demarcated either and I think its fluidity in this novel accurately reflects human beings in our modern world today.
Overall, Soul of the Border is a beautiful novel that encapsulates nature at its toughest and most stunning, and humanity at its strongest and most uplifting. You will be transported back to a time when things were simpler and to a landscape that is seemingly out of this world.
The tail end of the 19th century. The Vento region of Northern Italy. This is when and where the de Boer family are living, growing tobacco and working on the mountainous terraces. Life is hard, and every year the father of the family, Augusto, undertakes a perilous journey through the Italian Alps to smuggle tobacco across the border into Austria. He decides to take his daughter Jole with him, teaching her all the skills she needs to survive this trip, such as how to navigate the rocky terrain and valleys while avoiding the nocturnal beasts and hostile customs officers. Augusto mysteriously never returns from one of these trips and it is Jole who must retrace their steps alone three years later. Accompanied only by her horse, Samson, she treks across the beautiful rugged landscape, hoping to provide for her family and discover the truth about her father’s disappearance.
The prose of this novel was absolutely beautiful and made my reading of it so much more enjoyable. The way Righetto describes people and nature is captivating; the words and sentences flow so easily that it wasn’t long before I was swept up into the story and became attached to the characters. One of my favourite elements of this book is Righetto’s descriptions of the natural landscape. It is hostile and treacherous, and as you traverse the mountains with Augusto and Jole, you feel like them on the edge of a precipice. Simultaneously, the natural world is stunning and I sometimes found it hard to believe that any plants or animals could survive and thrive in such an environment. The forests and skylines allowed me to be completely immersed in this world and the depictions of birdsong and wolves howling made my reading experience all the more atmospheric.
The character of Augusto is truly inspirational in his care and devotion to his family, especially in times of hardship. No matter how severe the weather or how unlucky the de Boers’ seem to be, Augusto’s optimism and faith never falters; he just keeps pushing forward to provide for his family. Jole’s eagerness to travel with her father on the smuggling trip was bittersweet to read; her age makes her so innocent and naïve, but also evokes a degree of respect in the reader because she’s the eldest child and therefore feels a sense of responsibility. She’s just like her father in this respect as all she wants to do is help her father to sustain her mother and siblings. Jole’s courage and bravery to journey alone is heart-warming and uplifting because she assumes the role of Augusto and seeks to discover what happened to him. Her undying belief that her father is alive is additionally touching and understandable.
The de Boer family’s way of life overall is so different to our own, not just in terms of location but also in terms of what they want in life. Shelter, food and company is all they feel they really need, and I could not help but compare my family’s life, which is fast and busy, to the de Boers’ mode of living, which is tough but simple. Such a family made me realise how ridiculously commercialised and materialistic modern life is and after reading this book, it has made me want to take a step back and reassess what’s important to me.
Righetto does not stop with just the de Boer family, however. He examines humanity as a whole, particularly when Jole is searching for her father and smuggling tobacco alone. It soon became apparent to me that the borders Righetto describes are not just geographical, but metaphorical, as he depicts people on both sides of the border between good and evil. Such a border is not so clearly demarcated either and I think its fluidity in this novel accurately reflects human beings in our modern world today.
Overall, Soul of the Border is a beautiful novel that encapsulates nature at its toughest and most stunning, and humanity at its strongest and most uplifting. You will be transported back to a time when things were simpler and to a landscape that is seemingly out of this world.
March 16, 2019
Zarys fabuły był obiecujący. Jednak miałam problem z tą książką, bo - była miejscami afektowana, była miejscami niewiarygodna (szczególnie relacje międzyludzkie), była nudna. Generalnie zakończenie całej przygody było dość przewidywalne.
Sama podróż, perypetie młodej kobiety, wydawały mi się w dziwny sposób podobne do powieści Kazuo Ishiguro Buried Giant, gdzie wydawało się że wszystko ma drugie dno. Tu też miałam poczucie, że autor chce aby książka była symboliczna, sięgała znaczeniem ponad to, co rzeczywiste. Ale według mnie to naciągane. A tytułowa dusza granicy jest tak bzdurną koncepcją i kompletnie przeze mnie niezrozumiałą, że aż mi głupio. Bo z jednej strony w tekście pada stwierdzenie, że nie ma granic dla natury - że wszystkie rośliny, zwierzęta nie robią sobie nic z granic wyznaczonych przez ludzi, a tu nagle jakaś abstrakcyjna dusza granicy wieje w miejscu granicy między państwami. No, kto tu pojmie o co chodziło?
Sama podróż, perypetie młodej kobiety, wydawały mi się w dziwny sposób podobne do powieści Kazuo Ishiguro Buried Giant, gdzie wydawało się że wszystko ma drugie dno. Tu też miałam poczucie, że autor chce aby książka była symboliczna, sięgała znaczeniem ponad to, co rzeczywiste. Ale według mnie to naciągane. A tytułowa dusza granicy jest tak bzdurną koncepcją i kompletnie przeze mnie niezrozumiałą, że aż mi głupio. Bo z jednej strony w tekście pada stwierdzenie, że nie ma granic dla natury - że wszystkie rośliny, zwierzęta nie robią sobie nic z granic wyznaczonych przez ludzi, a tu nagle jakaś abstrakcyjna dusza granicy wieje w miejscu granicy między państwami. No, kto tu pojmie o co chodziło?
September 5, 2019
Soul of the Border is an excellent historical novel, set on the isolated, impossible-to-reach and ever moving border between Austria and Italy. Nevada is a small, dying village with only one thing going for it - the Brenta Valley, in tiers, cut into the side of Mount Grappa, produced excellent, much sought after Nostrano tobacco. It took the long intense labor of the whole De Boers family, and the tobacco company who provided the counted seeds monitored the crops at every stage and picked up the entire crop when ripened and cured - and paid the farmer only what they wanted to.
Though rarely enough to feed a family of five for the whole year, generations of De Boers men had worked out a system wherein they played with the few seeds provided by the tobacco company intended only to replace failed plants in the spring fields. Done properly, the De Boers family would have a small hidden crop of prime tobacco. And they had a ready, hungry market for that product in the mining towns on the Italian side of the mountains. Money was impossible over there as well, but Augusto had worked out a system of barter wherein he smuggled cured tobacco into the mining towns in exchange for copper and silver ore smuggled out of the mines in the bellies of the miners. There was a steady market for the metals in Austria, and with that grace, the family only rarely had to go hungry. Of course, the border was seriously patrolled against smugglers but it was wild steep country and a cautious farmer could make the trip each fall and be able to make it through the winter without too many hunger pains.
Augusto and Agnese had three children. The oldest of the DeBoers children was Jole, born in 1878 followed by Antonia in 1883 and Sergio in 1886. The autumn she was 16, Jole made the journey over the mountain with her father for the first time, their mule Rufus loaded down with 80 kilos of tobacco. It was an exciting and scary trip for her, for the most part without incident, and she felt like a real part of the family machine, ready and willing to do her part in all aspects of the farm needs. The following autumn Augusto went alone and did not return. The next three years without Augusto were very rough and the spring and summer's work was almost impossible, but with autumn of the third year Jole had a small stash of fine tobacco and a hand tamed wild pony to replace the missing Rufus. And thus began her first solo journey over the mountains to deliver their surplus tobacco and find out what happened to her father.
An excellent story, well told, peopled by characters you want to know. I am pleased to recommend this historical novel to friends and family.
I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Matteo Righetto, and Pushkin Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
first pub date Oct 4, 2018
revised pub date March 29, 2019
second revised publishing date June 11, 2019. It's worth the wait, I promise!
rec Dec 3, 2018
Pushkin Press
Reviewed Dec 15, 2018 at Goodreads, Netgalley. Reviewed 6-11-2019 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, Kobo.
Though rarely enough to feed a family of five for the whole year, generations of De Boers men had worked out a system wherein they played with the few seeds provided by the tobacco company intended only to replace failed plants in the spring fields. Done properly, the De Boers family would have a small hidden crop of prime tobacco. And they had a ready, hungry market for that product in the mining towns on the Italian side of the mountains. Money was impossible over there as well, but Augusto had worked out a system of barter wherein he smuggled cured tobacco into the mining towns in exchange for copper and silver ore smuggled out of the mines in the bellies of the miners. There was a steady market for the metals in Austria, and with that grace, the family only rarely had to go hungry. Of course, the border was seriously patrolled against smugglers but it was wild steep country and a cautious farmer could make the trip each fall and be able to make it through the winter without too many hunger pains.
Augusto and Agnese had three children. The oldest of the DeBoers children was Jole, born in 1878 followed by Antonia in 1883 and Sergio in 1886. The autumn she was 16, Jole made the journey over the mountain with her father for the first time, their mule Rufus loaded down with 80 kilos of tobacco. It was an exciting and scary trip for her, for the most part without incident, and she felt like a real part of the family machine, ready and willing to do her part in all aspects of the farm needs. The following autumn Augusto went alone and did not return. The next three years without Augusto were very rough and the spring and summer's work was almost impossible, but with autumn of the third year Jole had a small stash of fine tobacco and a hand tamed wild pony to replace the missing Rufus. And thus began her first solo journey over the mountains to deliver their surplus tobacco and find out what happened to her father.
An excellent story, well told, peopled by characters you want to know. I am pleased to recommend this historical novel to friends and family.
I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Matteo Righetto, and Pushkin Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
first pub date Oct 4, 2018
revised pub date March 29, 2019
second revised publishing date June 11, 2019. It's worth the wait, I promise!
rec Dec 3, 2018
Pushkin Press
Reviewed Dec 15, 2018 at Goodreads, Netgalley. Reviewed 6-11-2019 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, Kobo.
May 25, 2019
This is a refreshing piece of old-fashioned story-telling set in the shadow of Mount Pavione in the southern tip of the Italian Dolomites in 1896. It concerns a poor family of tobacco farmers who supplement their meagre income by smuggling some of the crop across a precarious mountainous border crossing to Austria.
There is a vivid image created by Righetto’s descriptions of the landscape in almost every step of the journey taken by Augusto and his young daughter Jole. It is an appealing mix of adventure and the historical in an extraordinary tale of survival in the wild and a family’s determination to stay together.
Though quite different in narrative and period it shares great story-telling and Alpine history with another recent translated novel, the excellent The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti .
There is a vivid image created by Righetto’s descriptions of the landscape in almost every step of the journey taken by Augusto and his young daughter Jole. It is an appealing mix of adventure and the historical in an extraordinary tale of survival in the wild and a family’s determination to stay together.
Though quite different in narrative and period it shares great story-telling and Alpine history with another recent translated novel, the excellent The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti .
September 2, 2019
This reads like it was written by a middle-school student, overflowing with clichés, utterly two-dimensional characters, and transparent but ridiculous aspirations to be deep. I picked it up at random from the library new book shelf – the cover is beautiful. The text on the back claims it’s an international sensation, which I can’t understand, but perhaps it’s better in Italian (or other languages). The story involves a poor family growing tobacco in the Italian Alps in the late 1800s, and centers on the daughter’s journey, alone, to smuggle tobacco in a town a few days’ distant. The daughter is Perfect in Every Way. The prose is ham-fisted. The plot is interesting, but suffers from wildly improbable last-minute saves.
January 9, 2019
Soul of the Border is a story about hardship, poverty and revenge. Set during the 1890's in the Italian mountains near the Austrian border, this story is about Jole and her father, who become smugglers in order to support their family. Matteo Righetto's book has been translated in to English by Howard Curtis. Thanks to Text Publishing for my paperback copy. A really enjoyable read.
July 10, 2021
Pretty boring, unfortunately. I appreciate the short chapters though!
October 3, 2019
4.0*
I liked this book a lot. It has a simple plot and is beautifully written.
A desperately poor farming family in 19th century struggle to survive growing tobacco. Whilst their product is of premium quality, the farmers sell at the mercy of their buyers and customs who take all but a pittance of its worth. The family turns to smuggling to survive.
The story covers the journey across the Italian/Austrian border to trade the smuggled produce.
As with many translated books the language is so eloquent.
This beautiful use of language creates suspense in what is a relatively simple tale.
For me, the author gets the right balance between describing the environment and advancing the plot. The journey is vivid and the story full of suspense.
It reads like a parable but is also historical fiction.
My rating criteria is..
5.0 - Amazing
4.5 - I loved it
4.0 - I liked it a lot
3.5 - I Liked it
3.0 - It was OK
2.5 - Just
2.0 - I wouldn't bother
1.5 - I didn't like it much
1.0 - I disliked it
I liked this book a lot. It has a simple plot and is beautifully written.
A desperately poor farming family in 19th century struggle to survive growing tobacco. Whilst their product is of premium quality, the farmers sell at the mercy of their buyers and customs who take all but a pittance of its worth. The family turns to smuggling to survive.
The story covers the journey across the Italian/Austrian border to trade the smuggled produce.
As with many translated books the language is so eloquent.
This beautiful use of language creates suspense in what is a relatively simple tale.
For me, the author gets the right balance between describing the environment and advancing the plot. The journey is vivid and the story full of suspense.
It reads like a parable but is also historical fiction.
My rating criteria is..
5.0 - Amazing
4.5 - I loved it
4.0 - I liked it a lot
3.5 - I Liked it
3.0 - It was OK
2.5 - Just
2.0 - I wouldn't bother
1.5 - I didn't like it much
1.0 - I disliked it
September 19, 2022
Nic wielkiego, przypowieść o tym że biedni są szlachetni, a bogaci są źli i wykorzystują biednych. Fabuła bardzo średnia - za dużo zbiegów okoliczności i uproszczeń. Postacie bardzo czarno-białe.
Plusem jest pokazanie Alp i życia miejscowych górali w końcówce XIX wieku.
Plusem jest pokazanie Alp i życia miejscowych górali w końcówce XIX wieku.
October 23, 2018
Soul of the Border, by Matteo Righetto (translated by Howard Curtis), is set in the remote and diminished village of Nevada near the alpine border between Italy and Austria. Here the De Boer family have lived for generations, eking out a living growing tobacco on the steep valley terraces. By the end of the nineteenth century the border has been moved, the land changing from Austrian to Italian rule. The high quality tobacco grown in the area is strictly monitored and purchased by the monopolistic Royal Tobacco Company.
Augusto de Boer is married to Agnese. They have three children: Jole, Antonio and Sergio. Each must work relentlessly to grow the crop that keeps them from starvation. The threat of famine and illness have driven many in the region to abandon their land and seek fortunes elsewhere.
To make life a little easier for his family Augusto has found ways to hide and process small quantities of their crop. Following the main harvest he will traverse the mountains and cross the dangerous border to reach the mining towns in Austria. Here he trades his smuggled tobacco for minerals that the exploited miners sneak out from below ground in their bodies. He brings home the valuable silver and copper that he may trade them for food and livestock. It is a dangerous business as customs officials roam the border lands intent on punishing those they regard as robbing The Crown and their wealthy acolytes.
When Jole turns fifteen Augusto decides that she will accompany him on his dangerous journey that someone else may learn the route through the mountains. Several years later, when he has not returned home from a smuggling trip, she sets out with tobacco to make a trade and find out what happened to her beloved if taciturn father. What she learns on this journey will change her forever.
The book is written in three parts. The first sets the scene and explains how the family lives. The second and longest part covers the journey Jole makes, the dangers encountered and the people she meets. The final section details her attempt to return. The perils encountered at home and away are both natural and man made.
The plot progression is, at times, slow with unremitting dangers described in detail, only some of which are actually encountered. There are depictions of the poverty experienced by those whose harsh and poorly rewarded work ensures the wealthy continue to live in comfort. Balancing this bleak outlook is the beauty of the mountains and their natural inhabitants, although these can, at any moment, become life threatening.
In many ways this is a timeless tale of mass exploitation to generate wealth for elites. By establishing and then strictly enforcing borders and laws, to remove hope of improvement for workers, there will naturally be those who turn to subversion. Augusto and then Jole force themselves to face fear and danger for the love of their family. The risks they take may feel worthwhile but ultimately the personal cost is high.
The writing is well structured with keen portrayals of time and place. The premise of the tale may not not be original but it is vividly told.
Augusto de Boer is married to Agnese. They have three children: Jole, Antonio and Sergio. Each must work relentlessly to grow the crop that keeps them from starvation. The threat of famine and illness have driven many in the region to abandon their land and seek fortunes elsewhere.
To make life a little easier for his family Augusto has found ways to hide and process small quantities of their crop. Following the main harvest he will traverse the mountains and cross the dangerous border to reach the mining towns in Austria. Here he trades his smuggled tobacco for minerals that the exploited miners sneak out from below ground in their bodies. He brings home the valuable silver and copper that he may trade them for food and livestock. It is a dangerous business as customs officials roam the border lands intent on punishing those they regard as robbing The Crown and their wealthy acolytes.
When Jole turns fifteen Augusto decides that she will accompany him on his dangerous journey that someone else may learn the route through the mountains. Several years later, when he has not returned home from a smuggling trip, she sets out with tobacco to make a trade and find out what happened to her beloved if taciturn father. What she learns on this journey will change her forever.
The book is written in three parts. The first sets the scene and explains how the family lives. The second and longest part covers the journey Jole makes, the dangers encountered and the people she meets. The final section details her attempt to return. The perils encountered at home and away are both natural and man made.
The plot progression is, at times, slow with unremitting dangers described in detail, only some of which are actually encountered. There are depictions of the poverty experienced by those whose harsh and poorly rewarded work ensures the wealthy continue to live in comfort. Balancing this bleak outlook is the beauty of the mountains and their natural inhabitants, although these can, at any moment, become life threatening.
In many ways this is a timeless tale of mass exploitation to generate wealth for elites. By establishing and then strictly enforcing borders and laws, to remove hope of improvement for workers, there will naturally be those who turn to subversion. Augusto and then Jole force themselves to face fear and danger for the love of their family. The risks they take may feel worthwhile but ultimately the personal cost is high.
The writing is well structured with keen portrayals of time and place. The premise of the tale may not not be original but it is vividly told.
June 26, 2017
Mi piace leggere storie di anime. Poco importa di chi sia, a chi appartenga. Sempre anima è. In questo caso specifico l'anima è quella di una frontiera, di un confine, di una cosa di per sé astratta che invece l'uomo pretende di definire con certezza assoluta, quando poi all'universo, di questa divione, non potrebbe interessare di meno.
Questa è la mia terra, quella è la tua. Si toccano lungo una linea che io, uomo, ho tracciato, ma non possono e non devono avere lo stesso padrone, al di qua e al di là del confine possono esistere regole e leggi diverse che io, uomo, ho stabilito.
Ok, ma prova a spiegarlo a un fiore, a un albero, all'aria, al sole. Puoi convincere il vento a soffiare a favore della tua terra snobbando l'altra che tua non è?
Le frontiere esistono solo per l'uomo, e secondo il pensiero di Augusto De Boer, padre della Jole protagonista di questo romanzo, "Le vere frontiere, sono quelle tra prepotenti e poveri cristi, tra chi si sollazza di cibo e potere e chi invece patisce la fame e deve spaccarsi la schiena per un pugno di polenta. Ecco, queste sì che sono le uniche vere frontiere."
Poco importa se l'uomo si ingegni a migliorare la sua vita con l'ausilio di invenzioni, come ad esempio l'avvento alla fine del 1800 della prima ferrovia che scorre appena al di sotto di Nevada, in Val Brenta, dove si svolge la storia scritta da Righetto: convogli per il trasporto di merce e persone che consentirà di viaggiare più velocemente. Viaggiare, muoversi, attraversare terre, in modo più pratico e sicuro. Ma questo avrebbe cambiato lo spirito della frontiera?
See more: http://bookshuntersblog.blogspot.it/2...
Questa è la mia terra, quella è la tua. Si toccano lungo una linea che io, uomo, ho tracciato, ma non possono e non devono avere lo stesso padrone, al di qua e al di là del confine possono esistere regole e leggi diverse che io, uomo, ho stabilito.
Ok, ma prova a spiegarlo a un fiore, a un albero, all'aria, al sole. Puoi convincere il vento a soffiare a favore della tua terra snobbando l'altra che tua non è?
Le frontiere esistono solo per l'uomo, e secondo il pensiero di Augusto De Boer, padre della Jole protagonista di questo romanzo, "Le vere frontiere, sono quelle tra prepotenti e poveri cristi, tra chi si sollazza di cibo e potere e chi invece patisce la fame e deve spaccarsi la schiena per un pugno di polenta. Ecco, queste sì che sono le uniche vere frontiere."
Poco importa se l'uomo si ingegni a migliorare la sua vita con l'ausilio di invenzioni, come ad esempio l'avvento alla fine del 1800 della prima ferrovia che scorre appena al di sotto di Nevada, in Val Brenta, dove si svolge la storia scritta da Righetto: convogli per il trasporto di merce e persone che consentirà di viaggiare più velocemente. Viaggiare, muoversi, attraversare terre, in modo più pratico e sicuro. Ma questo avrebbe cambiato lo spirito della frontiera?
See more: http://bookshuntersblog.blogspot.it/2...
May 21, 2019
Soul of the Border is set in the remote village of Nevada, Italy near the Austrian border during the late nineteenth century. Augusto De Boer grows high-quality tobacco on the steep valley terraces of the Alps as his ancestors before him, but his crop is monitored by the Royal Tobacco Company that underpays Augusto. In order to survive and provide for his family, Augusto puts tobacco aside and smuggles it into Austria through the perilous Alps to avoid customs officer who shot on sight. In exchange for the tobacco he gets metal that he sells for food. Three years after taking his fifteen-year-old daughter Jole on one such journey, so she can learn the “trade”, Augusto disappears. In order to find answers about his disappearance and provide for the impoverished family, Jole undertakes the journey on her own.
Soul of the Border is a complex and beautifully written novel. The writing is sparse and clean but powerful and evocative. It is lyrical, its brief chapters reminding me of poetry. The characters are representative of their condition and time, God-fearing hard workers with no education but to survive they are stoic and emotionless. They snap into vivid life with descriptive and precise prose. The terrain is harsh, complex, and dangerous but as vivid as any of the human characters. The terrain is actually a major antagonist, which needs to be challenged and surmounted as any other of the De Boers’ adversaries.
Soul of the Border is compelling and immersive. It illustrates the strength of the human soul as it confronts challenges and evils without question. Jole’s coming-of-age journey was painful but inspirational.
Reviewed for the Historical Novels Society
Soul of the Border is a complex and beautifully written novel. The writing is sparse and clean but powerful and evocative. It is lyrical, its brief chapters reminding me of poetry. The characters are representative of their condition and time, God-fearing hard workers with no education but to survive they are stoic and emotionless. They snap into vivid life with descriptive and precise prose. The terrain is harsh, complex, and dangerous but as vivid as any of the human characters. The terrain is actually a major antagonist, which needs to be challenged and surmounted as any other of the De Boers’ adversaries.
Soul of the Border is compelling and immersive. It illustrates the strength of the human soul as it confronts challenges and evils without question. Jole’s coming-of-age journey was painful but inspirational.
Reviewed for the Historical Novels Society
February 4, 2020
A short novel, lulling me in with evocative descriptions of Italian Alpine nature in the late 19th Century, the story covers passages of time with swift strokes as Jole follows in her father's footsteps in smuggling tobacco across the border to Austria. A very dangerous occupation: customs officers on the Italian side, violent guards on the Austrian, bandits in the forests, and -- for a young woman -- men. Jole must journey across the border to save her family from dire poverty, especially once her father disappears. It really does become an "epic story of revenge and salvation" as it states on the cover. The Soul of the Border is a wind, a spirit, that does not recognise human-made borders, but changes direction when it needs to, unconstrained. The true borders are the ones between the powerful and the poor. And by extension between men and women. I didn't buy one aspect of the story towards the end, which marred my enjoyment, but this was still an immersive read.
July 14, 2019
Una scrittura elegante, scorrevole, limpida. Non è necessario usare paroloni ricercati tra le righe più recondite del dizionario per essere grandi scrittori.
Una trama che porta il lettore in un viaggio tra gli affascinanti, e a volte insidiosi, boschi di frontiera attraverso l'avventura di Jole, ragazza-donna da conoscere.
Primo capitolo di una trilogia che si annuncia ricca di avventure. Coinvolgente come le altre opere di Matteo Righetto.
Una trama che porta il lettore in un viaggio tra gli affascinanti, e a volte insidiosi, boschi di frontiera attraverso l'avventura di Jole, ragazza-donna da conoscere.
Primo capitolo di una trilogia che si annuncia ricca di avventure. Coinvolgente come le altre opere di Matteo Righetto.
February 21, 2021
The worst book I've read for years. Stupid, juvenile, and totally unbelievable. According to the blurb a 'literary sensation'. Well, it's a sensation that it got published.
October 8, 2021
Expecting a clean, spartan piece of literature, I was really disappointed to discover that Matteo Righetto's Soul of the Border is in fact a bowdlerised Cormac McCarthy for a YA audience, and just as unpromising as that sounds. Opening with a quote from McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, the first of the Border Trilogy, Righetto is clearly trying to imitate the American with his own 'Trilogia della Patria'. But, despite some nifty marketing sheen presenting it as a dignified literary piece, Soul of the Border is a novel entirely lacking in depth and storytelling nous.
I was surprised at how clumsy this one was, because Italian writing seems to be in a relatively healthy place at the moment. But Righetto's book has sketchy characterisation, a clichéd plotline and some of the most hackneyed similes and introspection I've read in a while. Some disappointed reviewers have speculated that perhaps the story hasn't translated well into English, but I've read Howard Curtis' translations of Pietro Grossi from the Italian and they've been fine. The dearth of quality is entirely on Righetto. Consider the following selected passages:
"She remembered her mother, brother and sister. At the thought of them, she was moved. They felt so close and yet so far." (pg. 85)
"'Running away? What from?' 'From a black man with a black horse… and my nightmares.'" (pg. 163)
"In a few moments, the fear and the adrenaline had swept away all her sleepiness, all the symptoms of fatigue, and she had regained the vitality and the speed of reflex of a squirrel when faced with danger." (pg. 104)
"She had the feeling she had passed this way, not twenty-four hours ago, but weeks, if not months earlier!" (pg. 150)
Soul of the Border doesn't even use its landscape well: the Alpine border wilderness should be a rich setting, but it remains all but completely unevoked in this novel. The titular motif and the other attempts at profundity are almost embarrassing. The most constructive criticism I can make is that we are told the story too often – what to think and feel, what is happening functionally – and never are we drawn into it. But that's as far as my goodwill extends. By the time the novel's teenage girl protagonist (that should have been my first warning) tells us that "Dandelion Flower will be my battle cry!" (pg. 164), the book no longer smacks of YA, but is beating us over the head with it quite relentlessly.
The final act of the story wouldn't excel in a high-school writing competition, and from first page to last the novel fails to be anything other than a paint-by-numbers sketch bereft of authorial talent. And, in going over my notes, I've just noticed that one of its better lines ("When a lamb is lost on the mountains, it bleats loudly. Sometimes a wolf comes, but sometimes its mother comes" (pg. 163)) has been lifted – and, again, bowdlerised – from Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. This artless facsimile is one to avoid.
I was surprised at how clumsy this one was, because Italian writing seems to be in a relatively healthy place at the moment. But Righetto's book has sketchy characterisation, a clichéd plotline and some of the most hackneyed similes and introspection I've read in a while. Some disappointed reviewers have speculated that perhaps the story hasn't translated well into English, but I've read Howard Curtis' translations of Pietro Grossi from the Italian and they've been fine. The dearth of quality is entirely on Righetto. Consider the following selected passages:
"She remembered her mother, brother and sister. At the thought of them, she was moved. They felt so close and yet so far." (pg. 85)
"'Running away? What from?' 'From a black man with a black horse… and my nightmares.'" (pg. 163)
"In a few moments, the fear and the adrenaline had swept away all her sleepiness, all the symptoms of fatigue, and she had regained the vitality and the speed of reflex of a squirrel when faced with danger." (pg. 104)
"She had the feeling she had passed this way, not twenty-four hours ago, but weeks, if not months earlier!" (pg. 150)
Soul of the Border doesn't even use its landscape well: the Alpine border wilderness should be a rich setting, but it remains all but completely unevoked in this novel. The titular motif and the other attempts at profundity are almost embarrassing. The most constructive criticism I can make is that we are told the story too often – what to think and feel, what is happening functionally – and never are we drawn into it. But that's as far as my goodwill extends. By the time the novel's teenage girl protagonist (that should have been my first warning) tells us that "Dandelion Flower will be my battle cry!" (pg. 164), the book no longer smacks of YA, but is beating us over the head with it quite relentlessly.
The final act of the story wouldn't excel in a high-school writing competition, and from first page to last the novel fails to be anything other than a paint-by-numbers sketch bereft of authorial talent. And, in going over my notes, I've just noticed that one of its better lines ("When a lamb is lost on the mountains, it bleats loudly. Sometimes a wolf comes, but sometimes its mother comes" (pg. 163)) has been lifted – and, again, bowdlerised – from Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. This artless facsimile is one to avoid.
May 2, 2019
“Soul of the Border” by Matteo Righetto, published by Atria Books.
Category – Fiction/Literature Publication Date – June 11, 2019.
Augusto De Boer lives in the Italian Alps with his family. He is a poor tobacco farmer who is at the mercy of whichever regime is in power. He finds his only hope of survival is to sell some of his product in Austria. This means he has to cross the Alps and elude the Italian and Austrian Border Guards.
He decides that it is time for his oldest daughter of fifteen, Jole, to accompany him. This works out fine until Augusto goes alone and disappears for several years.
Jole knows she must follow in her father’s footsteps if the family is to survive. She embarks on a smuggling trip to sell tobacco. Jole and her horse must cross the Alps alone while evading the Border Patrols and various hazards.
It is only after she has sold her goods that she is told that her father is dead. She is told that he raped a young girl and that her father shot him. She must now face the same hazards on the way home while contemplating the fate of her father.
An excellent story that could easily be a one night read, the chapters are short and to the point. The reader will be caught up in the exploits, trials, and dangers that Jole faces as she becomes of age.
Category – Fiction/Literature Publication Date – June 11, 2019.
Augusto De Boer lives in the Italian Alps with his family. He is a poor tobacco farmer who is at the mercy of whichever regime is in power. He finds his only hope of survival is to sell some of his product in Austria. This means he has to cross the Alps and elude the Italian and Austrian Border Guards.
He decides that it is time for his oldest daughter of fifteen, Jole, to accompany him. This works out fine until Augusto goes alone and disappears for several years.
Jole knows she must follow in her father’s footsteps if the family is to survive. She embarks on a smuggling trip to sell tobacco. Jole and her horse must cross the Alps alone while evading the Border Patrols and various hazards.
It is only after she has sold her goods that she is told that her father is dead. She is told that he raped a young girl and that her father shot him. She must now face the same hazards on the way home while contemplating the fate of her father.
An excellent story that could easily be a one night read, the chapters are short and to the point. The reader will be caught up in the exploits, trials, and dangers that Jole faces as she becomes of age.
July 30, 2022
"Per qualche anno ancora il confine con l'Austra rimase lì dov'era, dove padre e figlia l'avevano conosciuto, valicato e sfidato più volte, là dove soffiava il vento delle altitudini e quello delle ingiustizie, là dove la Jole ne aveva sentito la profonda e inquietante voce dell'anima, là dove gli uomini si fronteggiavano e si uccidevano.
Là dove, soprattutto, lei aveva imparato a conoscere il senso profondo della frontiera, quel confine che da sempre e nettamente divideva il mondo tra corone d'oro e corone di spine e tra potenti e poveri cristi.
Ma aveva imparato a conoscere soprattutto la frontiera più profonda e intima, quella frontiera sottile che separa il bene dal male, quella invisibile linea di demarcazione tra ragione e follia che si cela in ogni animo umano, trasformando gli angeli in demoni e i demoni in angeli.
Mentre lassù le distese d'erba, le pietre e i fiori di tarassaco avrebbero continuato a ignorare per sempre qualunque confine.
E così continuò a fare la Jole, imitando quella natura che tanto amava, sperando intimamente che un giorno nessuno avrebbe più dovuto sentirsi straniero, a modo suo.
Né sulle sue montagne, né in questo mondo." (pp. 184-185)
Là dove, soprattutto, lei aveva imparato a conoscere il senso profondo della frontiera, quel confine che da sempre e nettamente divideva il mondo tra corone d'oro e corone di spine e tra potenti e poveri cristi.
Ma aveva imparato a conoscere soprattutto la frontiera più profonda e intima, quella frontiera sottile che separa il bene dal male, quella invisibile linea di demarcazione tra ragione e follia che si cela in ogni animo umano, trasformando gli angeli in demoni e i demoni in angeli.
Mentre lassù le distese d'erba, le pietre e i fiori di tarassaco avrebbero continuato a ignorare per sempre qualunque confine.
E così continuò a fare la Jole, imitando quella natura che tanto amava, sperando intimamente che un giorno nessuno avrebbe più dovuto sentirsi straniero, a modo suo.
Né sulle sue montagne, né in questo mondo." (pp. 184-185)
February 27, 2020
L'estate scorsa avevo già letto la conclusione della trilogia con "Terra promessa" e avevo anche seguito una conferenza di Righetto e perciò non mi sono trovato impreparato davanti a questa storia. La storia della giovane Jole e della sua fanciullezza perduta in una realtà da contrabbandiera per le montagne del feltrino e del Primiero. Un po' di tabacco sottratto alle coltivazioni dei Monopoli in cambio di un po' di argento ed un po' di rame. Per fare questo la fame, il freddo e ogni genere di rischio. Povera Jole e poveri tutti quelle che quella vita davvero l'han fatta, per sfuggire alla povertà e per un tozzo di pane in più. Ottimo Righetto, grazie mille per queste belle, bellissime pagine.
July 3, 2024
Quello che più mi incanta dei romanzo di Matteo Righetto sono le descrizioni della natura, dei boschi, delle montagne, dei laghi cristallini, degli animali che li abitano. Davvero coinvolgenti, trasmettono l'armonia della natura di questi luoghi - ma anche i pericoli che vi albergano, ovviamente.
La storia è interessante e il racconto scorrevole. Punti negativi, per me: il fatto che i capitoli siano sempre molto brevi (appena poche pagine) e la narrazione un po' troppo stringata, ed il finale - l'ultimo mini-capitolo - che è più simile ad una morale alla Esopo, che ad una conclusione... l'intento didascalico è troppo marcato.
Nel complesso, un romanzo che nei punti salienti ti tiene sveglio la notte per continuare a leggere, quindi il giudizio non può che essere molto positivo.
La storia è interessante e il racconto scorrevole. Punti negativi, per me: il fatto che i capitoli siano sempre molto brevi (appena poche pagine) e la narrazione un po' troppo stringata, ed il finale - l'ultimo mini-capitolo - che è più simile ad una morale alla Esopo, che ad una conclusione... l'intento didascalico è troppo marcato.
Nel complesso, un romanzo che nei punti salienti ti tiene sveglio la notte per continuare a leggere, quindi il giudizio non può che essere molto positivo.
May 21, 2019
Received as an ARC from the publisher. Started 5-19-19. Finished 5-21-19. A simple story told simply about an Italian family in the late 1890's who grow tobacco on their mountainside farm. It barely gets them out of poverty so they then smuggle it over mountains to Austria, exchange it for copper and silver from the mines there, and then use that to purchase food and other necessities. One year the father doesn't return and his teen-aged daughter continues the smuggling and searches for her father. She accomplishes more than she planned for and comes of age in the process. This is the first in a trilogy.
August 16, 2021
I felt this book promised more than it delivered. The quote on the front of my copy is "harrowing, suspenseful, convincing" - however I would say it is none of these things.
What it is excellent at is giving the reader a sense of place, feeling, and hardship both physical and emotional. The beauty and the unforgiving nature of the location are wonderfully observed.
The characters, sadly, are rather one dimensional - and the miraculous rescues are so numerous that they negate any sense of a realistic situation.
What it is excellent at is giving the reader a sense of place, feeling, and hardship both physical and emotional. The beauty and the unforgiving nature of the location are wonderfully observed.
The characters, sadly, are rather one dimensional - and the miraculous rescues are so numerous that they negate any sense of a realistic situation.
November 1, 2019
This 1890’s tale set on the Italian/Austrian border could be described as a ‘slow burner’ building up to a dramatic final quarter ... but it’s the description of the location , life in a mountain wilderness that captured my imagination
I’ll be intrigued to see where the second book moves onwards ...
I’ll be intrigued to see where the second book moves onwards ...
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