Books always keep us good company and, if you’re learning a foreign language, they can also help us improve your language skills.
So, today I’d like to give you a small list of Italian books you can read to improve your Italian language skills.
Il deserto dei Tartari
The first of the Italian books in this list is Il Deserto dei Tartari, by Dino Buzzati.
This book was published in the 40’s and tells the story of Giovanni Drogo, a young officer who’s sent to the Bastiani Fortress.
Bastiani fortress is an outpost surrounded by the Tartar desert. Drogo’s orders are to stay there and protect the outpost from the attack of the barbarian horde that should happen any time soon.
However, Drogo will have to wait years for the horde to actually come and attack the fortress and when the day finally comes something unexpected happens to him.
Il treno dei bambini
The second of the Italian books in this list is Il treno dei bambini.
Il treno dei bambini is a book Viola Ardone wrote in 2019.
The book is based on true events, although the main character is made up.
The book is set after World War II, when Italy was devastated and poverty was widely spread.
In this historical period the Italian communist party decided to promote an initiative to send southern children aged from 4 to 12 years old who lived in poor conditions to the north to live with some families for some months during the winter.
The main character of this book is Amerigo Speranza a seven-year-old boy who lives with his mother in a poor Neapolitan neighborhood.
One day Amerigo is brought by his mother at the communist palace where he learns that he will be sent to the north for the winter.
Before getting on the train, the communist party gives Amerigo a new coat and a new pair of shoes. Amerigo keeps the shoes but gives the coat to his mother because he knows that she’ll need it for the winter.
When Amerigo arrives in the North, he goes to live with Derna. He is surprised to see a table full of food, the fog, and even the snow. But these are just some of the things he sees in the north.
There he goes to school, meets new friends, learn new things, and when he goes back to the South, things for him will be different.
L’Arminuta
L’Arminuta is a book written by Donatella Di Pietrantonio and published in 2017.
In the Abruzzese dialect, l’arminuta means “the one who comes back”. This book tells the story of a thirteen-year-old girl who lived in a wealthy family and suddenly is sent to a poor one. The girl discovers that the woman she thought was her mother, in reality was the one who has adopted her – while the wife of his father’s cousin is her real mother.
Her life won’t be easy, especially because she always experiences that feeling of being rejected by the woman she thought was her mother. She tries to understand why her step mother decided to abandon her and when and if she’ll ever come back to bring her back home.
However, she’ll manage to learn the truth only by chance at the end of the novel.
Have you already read one of these Italian books? Did you like it?
What’s the best Italian book you’ve ever read?
Original image by Tumisu
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