Spatriati

Francesco narrates the story of his life from his teens in the 1980s and 1990s to the present, through the lens of his turbulent relationship with Claudia, an outgoing classmate and friend he desires. Both are misfits in their home town of Martina Franca in Puglia, both explore their queerness at different points, and both spend time living in Berlin. The novel explores identity, generational conflict, sexuality and the pull between feeling different and staying true to one’s roots.

In the local dialect, ’spatriato’ means something like ’misfit’. The English translation is by Michael F. Moore.