Why a Booktrail?
1978: A girl climbs into a van and vanishes in the deep, dark woods…
Can you hear me?
What you need to know before your trail
Ponte, a small community in Northern Italy. An unbearably hot summer like many others.
Elia Furenti is sixteen, living an unremarkable life of moderate unhappiness, until the day the beautiful, damaged Anna returns to Ponte and firmly propels Elia to the edge of adulthood.
But then everything starts to unravel. Elia’s father, Ettore, is let go from his job and loses himself in the darkest corners of his mind. A young boy is murdered.
And a girl climbs into a van and vanishes in the deep, dark woods…
Travel Guide
Ponte
Italy (c) Google
This is a fictional village in the north of the country. There is a village of the same name further south in the Province of Benevento, Campania Region. Its name means bridge in Italian and there is a lot of bridge burning in the novel which is apt.
The village is described in stark, fleeting prose which matches the setting. It’s almost abandoned, is surrounded by woods with a river running through it, and some very strange people living there.
“The fall of the mill was the beginning of the end. It had been a disaster for Ponte. Many left, looking for work. Several others started drinking , or just loitering”.
The themes of this novel are somewhat disturbing.The crime disturbs the peace of the village and the people which wasn’t on any kind of map before these crimes.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Can you hear me?
Destination : Italy, “Ponte” Author/Guide: Elena Varvello Departure Time: 1978
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