The Book of Saints

Set in a small, golden village nestled in folds of the Italian Apennines, The Book of Saints is a deceptively simple novel of startling power and mythic dimension. Young Vittorio Innocente is the pampered son of Cristina, a women whose husband has left Italy for work in North America. Beneath her placid surface, Cristina yearns to escape the restrictive village; and, one day, Vittorio is startled to find her in the family's stable, her ankle swelling from a snakebite. But what really happened to Cristina that day becomes the center of this talea story of passion and superstition beneath pastoral calm, a mother's secret life witnessed by a child. The first novel in a trilogy that follows Vittorio to adulthood, The Book of Saints is Ricci's acclaimed debut.

Winner of the Canadian Governor General's Award for Fiction

Set in a small, golden village nestled amid the folds of the Italian Apennines, The Book of Saints is a deceptively simple novel of startling power and mythic dimension. Young Vittorio Innocente is the pampered son of Cristina, a women whose husband has left Italy for work in North America.

Beneath her placid surface, Cristina yearns to escape the restrictive village. One day, Vittorio is startled to find his mother in the family's stable, her ankle swelling from a snakebite. But what really happened to Cristina that day becomes the center of this talea story of the passion and superstition existing beneath pastoral calm, and of a mother's secret life as witnessed by a child.

The first novel in a widely acclaimed trilogy that follows Vittorio to adulthood, The Book of Saints is Italian-Canadian novelist Ricci's celecrated debut.

"Fine, artful, vivid . . . Ricci has created a real place, has populated it with real people, and out of this has told a powerful tale."Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World

"A book to celebrate . . . A wise, poignant, and poised novel about the sacredness of everyday life and [the] valor of which ordinary people are capable."Bruce Bawer, The Wall Street Journal

Set in a small, golden village nestled in folds of the Italian Apennines, The Book of Saints is a deceptively simple novel of startling power and mythic dimension. Young Vittorio Innocente is the pampered son of Cristina, a women whose husband has left Italy for work in North America. Beneath her placid surface, Cristina yearns to escape the restrictive village; and, one day, Vittorio is startled to find her in the family's stable, her ankle swelling from a snakebite. But what really happened to Cristina that day becomes the center of this talea story of passion and superstition beneath pastoral calm, a mother's secret life witnessed by a child. The first novel in a trilogy that follows Vittorio to adulthood, The Book of Saints is Ricci's acclaimed debut.