âZanily inventive . . . This deeply eccentric comedy belongs in the company of the best novels about wildly precocious kidsâ (The Seattle Times).
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Al Santamaria is a child prodigy, maybe a genius. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he, alone, will save the human race. But first, he has to solve a far more urgent problem: finding a home for his family.
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He exists, like many kids, in a realm located somewhere between reality and fantasy, enjoying time with imaginary friends and wielding his magical powers. He has a wonderful relationship with his father, Mario Elvis, and his mother, Agnese, and heâs convinced he has the best family in the world.
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But life isnât all roses for the Santamaria family. They are typical of many Italian families today, whose existences seem suspended between conflicting impulses: on the one hand, delusions of grandeur and immoderate ambition, and on the other nostalgia for a past golden age and the secret wish that somebody, anybody, will come to their rescue. Big dreams, it appears, exist to be crushed.
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But Al is not about to give up. He lives in a marvelous world of his own. He has the energy, imagination, and unselfconscious talents of a child. And, although he doesnât know it yet, he is going to remain a child his entire life.
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âAn extended, guffaw-inducing, and sometimes tragic trip through Alâs young life. It reads like an Italian sitcom.â âForeword Reviews
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âAn amazing novel: itâll move you and make you laugh.â âElle
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âA plot shot through with the richness of Italian comedy and bright irony.â âLa Repubblica