Pietro’s father loves the mountains as an escape from Milan. So one summer the family rents a little house in the village of Grana in the Dolomites. There his father would go into the mountains like a man on a mission, climbing headlong, racing uphill. Stopping was forbidden, as were complaints about hunger or cold. Yet Pietro longed to climb with him, to win his approval. But it just wasn’t to be. Pietro had altitude sickness. So Pietro became friends with another lonely boy, a local boy, a cowherd. The family returns every year and the boys develop a close friendship, become brothers . As the years pass we get glimpses of the boys growing up, becoming men. Even as their paths diverge, Pietro living all over the world, Bruno staying in the mountains, their friendship remains strong. This is a beautiful book with descriptive, lyrical writing. A simple story, yet moving. It is the winner Italy’s 2017 Strega Prize. I enjoyed it very much.

eGalley review                          Publication date 3.20.18