Me, You A Novel

The unnamed narrator of this slim, alluring novel recalls a summer spent at age sixteen on an idyllic Italian island off the coast of Naples in the 1950s, where he spends his days with Nicola, a local fisherman. The narrator falls in love with Caia, who shares with him that she's Jewish, saved by Italian soldiers from the Nazis, who killed the rest of her Yugoslav family. The boy demands answers about the war from the adults around him, but is rebuffed by everyone but Nicola, who tells him of Italy's complicity with the Nazis. His passion for Caia and his ardent patriotism lead him to a flamboyant, cataclysmic act of destruction that brings his tale to an end.

Erri De Luca was born in Naples in 1950 and today lives in the countryside near Rome. He is the author of several novels, including God’s Mountain and Three Horses (Other Press). He taught himself Hebrew and translated several books of the Bible into Italian. He is the most widely read Italian author alive today as well as an international best seller.
 
Beth Archer Brombert‘s most recent translations from Italian are Italo Svevo’s masterpiece, Senilità (in English, Emilio’s Carnival) and Cheese, Pears and History in a Proverb by Massimo Montanari. She is the author of two widely acclaimed biographies: Cristina, Portraits of a Princess and Edouard Manet, Rebel in a Frock Coat (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year).