patchworkbunny reviewed Anna by Niccolò Ammaniti
Review of 'Anna' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
When the Red Fever came, it killed only the adults. On the island of Siciliy, young Anna and her little brother Astor are left orphaned. Before her death, their mother wrote The Book of Important things, with instructions on how to live without her, practical things like how to treat a fever, but also a request to teach her brother to read. In this world without adults, reading can be the key to survival.
The virus is perhaps a metaphor for the fear of growing up; the death of childhood is literally your death. It can go down on the fairly limited list of books that talk about periods, and that even after the apocalypse you might need to find sanitary products.
When Astor falls ill, Anna must leave him to find medicine which triggers a series of events which exposes them to the different ways children have adapted. Some …
When the Red Fever came, it killed only the adults. On the island of Siciliy, young Anna and her little brother Astor are left orphaned. Before her death, their mother wrote The Book of Important things, with instructions on how to live without her, practical things like how to treat a fever, but also a request to teach her brother to read. In this world without adults, reading can be the key to survival.
The virus is perhaps a metaphor for the fear of growing up; the death of childhood is literally your death. It can go down on the fairly limited list of books that talk about periods, and that even after the apocalypse you might need to find sanitary products.
When Astor falls ill, Anna must leave him to find medicine which triggers a series of events which exposes them to the different ways children have adapted. Some roam feral, others form organised groups and a kind of new religion. There is the twin left running the local shop, trading good for what he needs most and then there's the boy on a mission to find a certain pair of trainers.
I often felt a bit distanced from Anna, honestly the most emotional I felt was scenes concerning Fluffy the dog. I'd love to know the dog's third name before translation as Fluffy seems a bit silly and unfitting, although I did look up Maremmas and they are indeed fluffy. I really liked how Fluffy, the dog with three names, had a back story too.
I think I liked it more in parts than as a whole. Pietro's back story was really powerful and at times I was absorbed, but it was the kind of book I could easily put down. The plot is a bit roaming and the end was very sudden.
Review copy provided by publisher.