Winner of the 2018 “Mario Rigoni Stern” Prize for Multilingual Literature of the Alps
Plain-speaking and wise, part Pinocchio and part ET, Numero Primo (Prime Number) will linger in the mind as one of the most striking characters in contemporary fiction.
Vincenzo lives in Sicily in the 1980s. Though only twelve years old, he is sexually precocious and pursues whichever of his female cousins he can get his hands on. His father is a labourer who works in various parts of mainland Italy and comes home for the weekend now and again. One day, however, he doesn’t come back, and Vincenzo’s life starts to change. Opposite Vincenzo’s home is a church, where a handsome new priest, Father Calogero, has just been appointed to the parish. One of Vincenzo’s grandmothers falls under his spell, and asks him to be the godfather at Vincenzo’s confirmation.