Il sole tra le dita
(The sun between the fingers) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Dario is 16 years old. He is difficult to deal with, as his teachers know. He lives with his mother, with whom he has little or no communication. After all, it is her fault, Dario thinks, that his father abandoned the family when he was just a child. At school, after the umpteenth fight, the headmaster decides to give him an exemplary punishment and assigns him to help disabled students. This is how Dario meets Andy, who is on a wheelchair and unable to communicate with the outside world. Dario and Andy: they couldn’t be more different. And yet, an extraordinary on-the-road adventure will turn all the tables. [Publisher’s website]
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
Sixteen-year-old Dario is a rebellious and problematic boy, a ‘rotten apple’ according to his teacher. After the umpteenth fight, the headmaster ‘punishes’ him by assigning him to the assistance service for disabled students and entrusting him with the task of looking after a boy who is on a wheelchair and unable to communicate with the outside world: Andrea, aka Andy. This is yet another hard blow for Dario, the son of parents who went through a divorce for which he feels unjustly responsible. He lives with his mother, with whom he communicates little or nothing, idolising his absent father. Elisa, the tutor that Dario works with, is very hard on Andy, while Dario immediately manages to understand the boy’s unspoken desires, showing great empathy. It is thanks to him that Andy will rediscover the joy of being outdoors, of feeling “the sun between his fingers”. Dario turns out to be a chance for a real rebirth for Andy. Treating him as a friend, a fellow adventurer, and not perceiving his diversity as an obstacle or a limit to what they can experience together, Dario undertakes an unusual and adventurous journey with him, in search of his father. Although breaking the rules and taking some risks, Dario manages to take Andy to the beach, the park, and even to a private party. Together they have fun, and their friendship, made up more of shared gestures and emotions than words, becomes richer and richer. Their deep affection and mutual understanding improve Andy’s condition, and little by little he manages to pronounce a few words, to make himself understood by Dario with gestures or even just by moving his eyes. If meeting his father proves to be a disappointment for Dario, his friendship with Andy is beneficial to him. In fact, Andy’s father asks Dario to continue to see his son and to help him as he has done so far. It is exactly this loving father that allows Dario to understand what a good father really is, and to heal his old wound. Dario and Andy could not be more different, but the adventure they live together could not have made them more united, and free.