MADONNA OF THE MOUNTAINS

Vividly brings to life the checkpoints and informers, beatings and hunger, the small terrors of living in Mussolini's Italy under a fascist regime. 'A doll on the railroad tracks; a mad woman in the wild; silkworms in the attic. Recipes for rolling tender gnocchi, using sardines to make polenta last, torturing enemies with oil or salt - they are all part of life in this winning novel about tradition, hardship and resolve.' - Publishers Weekly USA. It is 1923. Maria Vittoria is embroidering a sheet for her dowry trunk. Her father has gone to find her a husband. He's taken his mule, a photograph and a pack of food - homemade sopressa sausage, cold polenta, a little flask of wine. There are no eligible men in this valley or the next one, and her father will not let her marry just anyone. Now, despite Maria's years, she is still healthy. And the Lord knows Maria will need to be able to work. Fascism booms as crops ripen, the State craves babies just as the babies cry for food. Maria faces a stony path, but one she will surely climb to the summit. A sumptuous and elegant novel in which you can touch the mulberry leaves cut finer than organdie and feel the strain of Maria's family, faith and place. 384pp.