Io e Te - Niccolò Ammaniti

This is such a different novel from Ammaniti’s previous one – Che La Festa Cominci.

It’s a more intimistic, melancholic story. It starts with a potentially funny premise: an adolescent who never fitted in with the other boys his age, neither wanted to, from a good (rich-ish) family tells his parents he’s going skying with the cool gang in school, but instead hides in the cellar, where he had set everything up for a week’s stay. But something happens, someone asks for his help, and he has to re-evaluate all of his opinions on life, family, fitting in.

I don’t want to reveal more, because it’s such a beautiful little novel that I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. It’s well worth reading it.



Questo è un romanzo così diverso dal precedente dello stesso Ammaniti – Che La Festa Cominci.

E’ una storia più intima e melanconica. L’incipit fa pensare ad uno sviluppo divertente: un adolescente, che non si è mai integrato con i suoi compagni – né lo ha mai voluto – di buona famiglia, dice ai genitori che sta partendo per la settimana bianca con alcuni suoi compagni un po’ “fighetti”, ma in realtà si nasconde nella cantina, preparata con tutto l’occorrente per l’occasione. Ma qualcosa succede, qualcuno gli chiede aiuto, e il protagonista dovrà rivedere le sue convinzioni a proposito di vita, famiglia, dell’integrarsi.

Non voglio svelare di più, perché è un racconto così bello che non ho voglia di rovinarlo. Merita decisamente di essere letto.

Che la festa cominci - Niccolò Ammaniti

I asked to have this book as a Chrismtas present from my family. Having just finished "Nel nome del padre", I was curious of what Ammaniti had reserved for us.

This book very much reminded me, both stylistically and in the topics treated, of the novel "L'ultimo Capodanno" (by the same author).

The writing is, like there, sarkastic and irreverent, and the story (a big party organized by a parvenu in Rome, to show everybody his wealth and power, goes bad, with the most absurd ending). Two stories proceed, first independently, then together, and while at the very beginning we, as readers, tend to like more one of the two main characters (Ciba), then we just feel the pain of the other one (Saverio-Mantos), while Ciba reveals how rotten is his soul at the end.

The characters very much represent a certain kind of Italy, with its will to be peresnt and be seen everywhere, and its underlying idiocy.

I just read some very hard critics on this book...

I do not agree on them, as I really liked it. And this sarcastic thread, if not dominant, was present also in "Nel nome del padre", for example in the story of Danilo or the social worker.

I'd say, it is one of the (many) voices o Ammaniti.