The First True Lie: A Novel
When his reclusive single-parent mother suddenly dies in her bed, young Luca dreads change, especially the possibility that he will land in an orphanage, so he keeps his mother’s death a secret, goes to school, uses her cash card, and cares for his beloved cat, even as the rotting corpse swells up in the one-bedroom apartment on the eighth floor of their city building, and the stench begins to reach beyond the locked bedroom door. Translated from the Italian in clear, lyrical prose, always true to the child’s viewpoint, the blend of horror and innocence captures a universal nightmare, as Luca dresses up as “a normal little boy,” tries to make do, talks to his mother and himself, listens to the silence, gets through a visit from a friend, and wards off the neighbors. The terse survival drama of the child marooned alone, not in the wilderness but in the crowded city, will stir readers: Could it be happening on my street? How will it end? --Hazel Rochman