From the Land of the Moon(ISBN=)

Starred Review. In her debut novel, Agus follows the fortunes of
a Sardinian woman whose adventures begin as WWII comes to an end;
the unnamed narrator is her granddaughter who is about to be
married. The woman had suitors, but with no firm proposals by 30,
she was forced into a marriage to a widower whose experiences in
the brothel dictate their life in the bedroom. Several miscarriages
and kidney stones later, she is sent to thermal baths on the
mainland for a cure, where she takes as her lover a war veteran
whose kindness is in stark contrast to her husband’s indifference.
The veteran has a wife and daughter in Milan and she returns home
to give birth to a son. Years later, she searches for her lost
love, wandering the streets of Milan. The narrator constantly
amends the tale, demonstrating the uncertainty of stories passed
down. Agus’s de*ions of the everyday are as beautiful and
haunting as her portrayal of life’s most dramatic episodes. Add an
unexpected ending and the result is a graceful, powerful book.
(Jan.)
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