There Was a Time for Such a Word
A Novel
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
For fans of The Reader and inspired by historical events in 1940s Italy, a poignant and hopeful novel in which a young, illiterate herdsman learns to read with the help of his two friends— rewriting his destiny in the process
September 1942. Young Davide is no stranger to hunger or cruelty. Uneducated but curious, he endures a life of quiet hardship caring for his father’s pigs with only the fiery Teresa for a friend. That is, until a group of Jewish families are relocated to their small Italian town. Among them is the mysterious Nicolas, who sparks within Davide a desire for knowledge and deep connection.
When Nicolas’ father sets up an underground school, Davide begins to attend classes and, as he learns to read, words begin to reshape his world. As Davide, Teresa, and Nicolas grow closer, they find themselves navigating the perilous and emotional terrain of adolescence. But when Davide’s choices lead to betrayal and guilt, he is forced to flee the village, leaving his friends behind.
In Naples, amid bombed-out rubble, back-alley theaters, and fleeting moments of human kindness, Davide will eventually reclaim his voice through the power of storytelling as a performer. Each word penned carries the weight of his struggle, and every performance strikes back at the cruelty of his world. Resolving at last to find his lost friends, Davide sets off in search of redemption. Rich with history, heartbreak, and the fragile glow of resilience, There Was a Time for Such a Word captures the transformative power of words and the strength needed to decide your fate.
Translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Solla makes his English-language debut with an insightful story of a boy's transformation in his isolated southern Italian town during WWII. As a teen in Tora e Piccilli, Davide Buonasorte is discouraged by his father, Furtunà, a pig keeper and mushroom hunter, from pursing an education. When Jewish families arrive from Naples on orders from Mussolini, Davide defies the bigoted Furtunà, who insists he stay away from them, and befriends Nicolas, whose father sets up a secret school for Jews. Davide learns to read at the school and is attracted to Teresa, an avid reader and daughter of a local rope maker who, like Davide, longs to leave their town. When Nicolas is scapegoated for an attack on a German truck, Davide hides him. Fearing for his own safety, Davide then leaves for Naples, where he eventually becomes a well-known actor after the war. He never forgets Nicolas or Teresa, and returns to Tora e Piccilli 12 years later, where he makes a surprising discovery. Solla's simplistic story is enriched by descriptions of the power of language, as when Davide learns from Nicolas how to pronounce maiali, the word for pigs, in "perfect Italian" ("I saw from another point of view. I saw the difference between them and us"). It's an alluring chronicle of a restless young man's coming-of-age.
