Synopses & Reviews
A debut novel about childhood and terrorism, innocence and cruelty, from one of Italys finest new writers
Giorgio Vastas Time on My Hands unfolds during the annus horribilis of 1978, when Italy was transfixed by leftist acts of terrorism. The Christian Democratic leader, Aldo Moro, has been kidnapped in Rome by members of the Red Brigades, and the nation is in a state of anxiety as he lies blindfolded in an undisclosed “peoples prison.” Two months after his disappearance, Moro is found dead in the trunk of a car parked midway between the headquarters of the Italian Communist Party and the Christian Democratic Party in Rome.
In the Sicilian capital of Palermo, a trio of eleven-year-old schoolboys, self-named Nimbus, Radius, and Flight, avidly follow news of Moros abduction as it percolates down to them from Rome. To their minds, the brigatisti are pure warrior figures striking a blow at Italian conformity and propriety. The boys shave their heads, develop a secret langauge, and begin a life of escalating criminal behavior. With news of Moros death, the friends kidnap a classmate and slowly suffocate him after a week of detention and silent torture. Eventually Flight, the ruthless leader of the group, decides that Nimbus must kidnap a mute Creole girl he is secretly in love with. Meticulous and desperate, introverted and precocious, Nimbus records and questions everything, leading the reader down the path of his tragic transformation.
Synopsis
A debut novel about childhood and terrorism, innocence and cruelty, from one of Italys finest new writers
Giorgio Vastas Time on My Hands unfolds during the annus horribilis of 1978, when Italy was transfixed by leftist acts of terrorism. The Christian Democratic leader, Aldo Moro, has been kidnapped in Rome by members of the Red Brigades, and the nation is in a state of anxiety as he lies blindfolded in an undisclosed “peoples prison.” Two months after his disappearance, Moro is found dead in the trunk of a car parked midway between the headquarters of the Italian Communist Party and the Christian Democratic Party in Rome.
In the Sicilian capital of Palermo, a trio of eleven-year-old schoolboys, self-named Nimbus, Radius, and Flight, avidly follow news of Moros abduction as it percolates down to them from Rome. To their minds, the brigatisti are pure warrior figures striking a blow at Italian conformity and propriety. The boys shave their heads, develop a secret langauge, and begin a life of escalating criminal behavior. With news of Moros death, the friends kidnap a classmate and slowly suffocate him after a week of detention and silent torture. Eventually Flight, the ruthless leader of the group, decides that Nimbus must kidnap a mute Creole girl he is secretly in love with. Meticulous and desperate, introverted and precocious, Nimbus records and questions everything, leading the reader down the path of his tragic transformation.
Synopsis
When does a game stop being a game? And what would cause a young boy to commit an act of savage violence? In
Time on My Hands by Giorgio Vasta, the year is 1978, and
a chilling drama is unfolding in Rome. Members of a leftist terrorist group known as the Red Brigades have kidnapped the former Italian prime minister, Aldo Moro, and are holding him in a secret prison, while broadcasting their demands to the public.
Far from Rome, in Palermo, Sicily, a trio of eleven-year-old schoolboys are following Moros abduction with intense interest. To their minds, the terrorists are warriors, striking a blow at the stifling conformity and propriety of everyday Italian life. Just like the Red Brigades, the boys give themselves code names: Nimbus, Radius, and Flight. They shave their heads, develop a secret language, and begin a life of escalating crime in worshipful imitation of their heroes. But when Moros body is discovered in the trunk of a car, riddled with bullets, and as the stakes of the friends games grow higher, Nimbus, the most innocent of the three, must decide just how far he is willing to go.
About the Author
Giorgio Vasta was born in Palermo in 1970 and currently lives in Turin. In Italy, Time on My Hands was selected for the Premio Strega 2009 and was a finalist for the Prix Dessì, the Premio Berto, and the Dedalus Award. Vasta has edited several anthologies and writes for the literary blog Minima et Moralia.