Premio Strega 2020 finalist

“Novels walk on the legs of the characters and the characters of Ragazzo italiano strike you from their very first appearance on the scene.” Paolo Di Stefano, Corriere della Sera

“Flashes of the Italian backdrop light up the story.” Corrado Augias, Il Venerdì 

“Ferrari wrote a true novel.” Margaret Mazzantini

“The autobiography of a nation.” Ernesto Ferrero, Tuttolibri

“The story of the young protagonist becomes a symbol for national history. Surprising.” Eraldo Affinati, Il Riformista

“A novel that shows a true narrative desire and the ability to engage the reader throughout the coming of age arc.” Maurizio Cucchi, Avvenire

Ninni is a child of postwar Italy. His life traverses hardships recalling the industrial revolution in provincial Lombardy, the decline of rural civilization in Emilia, and the explosion of life of in a Milan undergoing reconstruction. Through it all, Ninni learns about the pitfalls of emotions, suffering, and the pain hidden even in the closest bonds. As a boy, thanks to his grandmother, he discovers he can leverage the immense continent of experiences and emotions that books open wide before his eyes. Having become aware of himself and his wearying autonomy, the boy carves out, in the name of curiosity and the will to know, what promises to be his place in the world.

The story of Ragazzo italiano (Italian Boy) reflects the history of the whole country – the harshness, poverty, anxiety about the future – the story of a generation born of the war but determined to carry out projects and dreams beyond that tragedy. An Italy where school is the springboard for social advancement, and the future is crowded with expectations and promises. An Italy still alive in the deep memory of the country, in the familiar vicissitudes of many Italians. Ferrari gives it body and breath, without any self-indulgence, with a crystalline and austere style, often raw, and a timbre of courageous sincerity. Able to express the freshness of the protagonist and a multitude of flashing characters of the future.

“Once the ties with the nest were cut – eliminating, in practice, obligations and duties – Ninni, to his intimate amazement, discovered that other things were left and they existed. Indeed, he existed.”