paulataua's review against another edition
4.0
Who can resist this short novel in which the main character, 66- year-old Nives, unfazed by her husband’s death, replaces him with a new house companion , Giacomina, a hen with a deformed claw. It’s a perfect change and all goes swimmingly until poor Giacomina goes into a hypnotic trance while watching a detergent commercial. What follows is the longest of telephone conversations between Nives and the Vet, an old acquaintance. It’s a conversation that turns out to be the real core of the story
amyreads2021's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
carlaabra's review
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Incredibly entertaining. Like reading a soap opera, but everyone is Italian.
Nives is an older farming woman living with her husband of several decades in the country. When her husband dies suddenly, she brings a special needs chicken to live in her house with her for company. One day the chicken becomes transfixed while watching a Tide commercial, so Nives calls her local vet, Bocci, whom she grew up with and has known forever.
That’s the first 30 pages. What follows in the next 100 pages, right up to the end, is a wild ride of a phone call as the pair strolls down memory lane. It’s funny, aggravating, and sometimes touching. I gasped aloud multiple times.
Nives is an older farming woman living with her husband of several decades in the country. When her husband dies suddenly, she brings a special needs chicken to live in her house with her for company. One day the chicken becomes transfixed while watching a Tide commercial, so Nives calls her local vet, Bocci, whom she grew up with and has known forever.
That’s the first 30 pages. What follows in the next 100 pages, right up to the end, is a wild ride of a phone call as the pair strolls down memory lane. It’s funny, aggravating, and sometimes touching. I gasped aloud multiple times.
maiamountain's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Not usually my style of book but actually quite funny and loved the drama
helenafbeer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emcat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
frombethanysbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Nives was married for fifty years when her husband died. She found his body, shooed the pigs away so they wouldn't eat his entire face, buried him and then continued on without a tear. It was odd, but the only real sadness she felt was being alone in the farmhouse.
So she decides to bring in her favourite hen, Giacomina to live with her and finds her feathered friend provides more comfort and companionship than her late husband ever did. But then history repeats, and Nives finds Giacomina perfectly still in front of the TV and resorts to a late night call to the local Veterinarian, Loriano - an old friend, a ghost from another life.
Their phone call quickly drifts from the fate of Giacomina, from the here and now, into the distant past as Nives and this man who is almost a stranger now revisit the lives, losses and loves they thought they'd left long behind them.
"Hearts at our age shouldn't skip too many beats, it's not pleasant."
Tell Me About It is unlike anything I've ever read. Delicate and poetic, but raw and authentic in it's honesty. This story is a beautiful reminder of the shared experiences that make us human and bind us together - feelings of loss, despair, betrayal but also of love and happiness. Naspini voraciously explores that grey, murky area that is life after loss, and the flickering light at the end that is our immense potential to love.
There is also a stunning aspect to this story that resonated deeply with me - the refreshing and empowering concept of female independence and discovery - of finding ones own identity when it has always been defined by the men in your life. I wholeheartedly appreciate that Nives was not perfect - she was an old woman, who could be abrasive and rude, she was short-tempered and impulsive, but seeing her give herself that unfiltered permission to be her genuine self was a breath of fresh air.
This story is, quite simply, a conversation between two almost-strangers. Only a few pages in, the phone call starts and that's it - that's the whole book. And somehow, Naspini makes it work. There is few mentions of other people, there is no scenery and no action, just works spoken between two people. The prose manages to stay conversational and deeply intimate, but show a poetic, haunting perspective and show us the dreamscapes playing out in Nives and Lorianos memories.
Beautiful in it's simplicity, this story is about the things that keep us up at night, and the reasons we wake up. And once you've read it, you'll definitely want to tell someone about it.
"Day after day, I've been here, gazing at the shards of my broken dreams through misty eyes."
I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. Thank you to my partners at Europa Editions UK.
So she decides to bring in her favourite hen, Giacomina to live with her and finds her feathered friend provides more comfort and companionship than her late husband ever did. But then history repeats, and Nives finds Giacomina perfectly still in front of the TV and resorts to a late night call to the local Veterinarian, Loriano - an old friend, a ghost from another life.
Their phone call quickly drifts from the fate of Giacomina, from the here and now, into the distant past as Nives and this man who is almost a stranger now revisit the lives, losses and loves they thought they'd left long behind them.
"Hearts at our age shouldn't skip too many beats, it's not pleasant."
Tell Me About It is unlike anything I've ever read. Delicate and poetic, but raw and authentic in it's honesty. This story is a beautiful reminder of the shared experiences that make us human and bind us together - feelings of loss, despair, betrayal but also of love and happiness. Naspini voraciously explores that grey, murky area that is life after loss, and the flickering light at the end that is our immense potential to love.
There is also a stunning aspect to this story that resonated deeply with me - the refreshing and empowering concept of female independence and discovery - of finding ones own identity when it has always been defined by the men in your life. I wholeheartedly appreciate that Nives was not perfect - she was an old woman, who could be abrasive and rude, she was short-tempered and impulsive, but seeing her give herself that unfiltered permission to be her genuine self was a breath of fresh air.
This story is, quite simply, a conversation between two almost-strangers. Only a few pages in, the phone call starts and that's it - that's the whole book. And somehow, Naspini makes it work. There is few mentions of other people, there is no scenery and no action, just works spoken between two people. The prose manages to stay conversational and deeply intimate, but show a poetic, haunting perspective and show us the dreamscapes playing out in Nives and Lorianos memories.
Beautiful in it's simplicity, this story is about the things that keep us up at night, and the reasons we wake up. And once you've read it, you'll definitely want to tell someone about it.
"Day after day, I've been here, gazing at the shards of my broken dreams through misty eyes."
I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review. Thank you to my partners at Europa Editions UK.
emilijaslibrary's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Nives’ husband dies of a stroke so she brings a hen home for company and starts living with it. The hen becomes ‘hypnotized’ and the resulting phone call with the vet becomes the core of this entire novel. I honestly can’t remember if there were any chapters or if it was just one long one — I read it in one sitting at the library so I can’t go back and check. But, anyway, it deals with wildly complicated and twisted loves, heartbreak, grief, sacrifice, betrayal.
90% of the book is told through a phone conversation, which was a really interesting format for a story. It was originally written in Italian so some of the phrases and expressions are not ones I have heard before, which was also a really fun part of reading this book. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into how a different language and culture speaks about life and the world
90% of the book is told through a phone conversation, which was a really interesting format for a story. It was originally written in Italian so some of the phrases and expressions are not ones I have heard before, which was also a really fun part of reading this book. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into how a different language and culture speaks about life and the world
terese_utan_h's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0