ME AND YOU by Niccolo Ammaniti

ME AND YOU by Niccolo Ammaniti

Yet another small novel - 150 pages - of exquisite writing and heartbreak that says so much more than something twice its length. This is a love story, yes, but not your typical love story. This is a story of a 14 year old boy, Lorenzo Cuni, only child of parents who need to be seen to be fitting in and going to the right places. Like many 14 year olds, he feels disconnected from those around him - his peers and his parents, and really just wants to be left alone. To escape he tells his parents he is going on a week long ski trip with the popular kids from school, but in reality he sneaks away into the basement of the apartment building he lives in, relishing a week of peace and quiet and no expectations. His paradise is suddenly shattered when his 24 year old troubled drug user drop out half sister, Olivia, turns up. Neither wants the other one there - Olivia is estranged from her father, and Lorenzo has grown up only hearing bad things about his sister. But over the few days left of Lorenzo's 'ski trip', they slowly stop circling each other, realise they have much more in common than they thought, and ultimately find the acceptance and belonging neither had ever really had from their family.

The character of Lorenzo captures perfectly the angst - justified or not - that most young teens feel. He is caught between wanting to be his own person, but not really knowing what that is, and like most children, wanting to please his parents and keep on their good side. Like many teens he is ingenious in his thinking to cover his murky tracks and I enjoyed very much the flawed young man I was reading about. Olivia is a tragic figure, not much has gone right for her in her young life, but in meeting Lorenzo, her little brother, she finds a softness and warmth that she had long forgotten about.

Of course the escape has to come to an end, and Lorenzo returns from his ski trip happier and more at peace with himself, and Olivia too leaves and gets on with her life. I almost can't believe so much can be said in such a small book. Stunning.