Farfariel

Auteur

Pietro Albì (1979) was born in a small town in Abruzzo called Canzano. After studying literature at the Sapienza University of Rome, he worked for some years as a screenwriter and as a playwright. At the age of 32 he leaves everything and goes back to live in his hometown, to write his first novel, Farfariel. Today he lives in a small village in Italy between the Monti della Laga and the Monti Sibillini, often walking in the woods with his wife, his three cats and his dog.

Denise Muir is an Italian to English translator with a special interest in children's literature. In her twenty-year career, she has translated the full gamut from board books to young adult fiction and everything in between. Her translations have been nominated for the Carnegie Prize three times and The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree was selected as the IBBY UK 2020 nominee in the translation category. She lives in Edinburgh, Scotland where she also teaches psychology in a local secondary school. Learn more at www.italianchildrensbooks.co.uk

Texte du rabat

Battling illness, alienated by his peers, and potentially cursed by a local witch, ten-year-old Micù has a difficult life-but when the boy finds an unlikely ally in the mischievous imp named Farfariel, the two set out on a search for a magical book which might hold the key to changing Micù's fortunes.

In a small Italian town on the brink of World War II, nothing seems to turn out well for Micù. If it wasn't enough that he struggles with Polio, the young boy also endures constant nightmares, bullying from other children, and whispers from suspicious villagers who think he's the target of an evil spell. All that young Micù wants is to go to school, but his father forbids it. Instead, he passes the time with his favorite uncle Tatà, who just returned from travels in America with stories galore.

But when Micù dreams about a mysterious book that everyone has imagined but no one else can remember when they wake, his life changes overnight. Now a cackling trickster named Farfariel is rewriting Micù's story while he's living it, and while we read it! Together with this opinionated little demon, Micù must confront his greatest fears, find the book that blurs fantasy and reality, and draw on a confidence he never knew he had.

Résumé

In a small Italian town on the brink of World War II, ten-year-old Micù has a tough life—stricken with polio, alienated by his peers, and potentially cursed by the local witch, Micù befriends a mischievous demon named Farfariel who becomes an unlikely ally in the search for a rare and magical book which might just hold the key to turning Micù’s life around.