Down in the Valley - Paolo Cognetti is the most dramatic expression

is the most dramatic expression of his dualism and in his simultaneous acceptance and rejection of his heritage heralds the great American-Jewish writers from Henry Roth to Saul Bellow and Philip Roth

Rather than chronology

a bookstore is populated not by the characters contained in the books

But even before Giuseppe’s departure

Translators: David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu

Down in the Valley - Paolo Cognetti is the most dramatic expressionAlfredo and Luigi grew up in Valsesia, in northern Italy. Their father planted trees for them when they were born: for Luigi, a larch, which looks towards the sun and waves in the wind; for Alfredo, a fir, which flourishes only in the shade. Since their father's untimely death, all the two brothers have in common is their heavy drinking and the old family home, high up on the mountain. Luigi would like to buy Alfredo out, move from down in the valley