Disclosure: I received an Advance Readers Edition of this book through the Goodreads FirstReads program.

Lost Words is the first novel to be translated into English by Italian writer Nicola Gardini, set in seventies-era Milan. The novel tells the story of Chino, an adolescent boy, as he navigates his way through his role as the son of the portress of an apartment complex. The book rarely leaves the scene of the apartment complex, and the narrative is thus deceptively simplistic. A new tenant, Amelia Lynd, moves into the complex, and begins to mentor young Chino.

Chino's mother, Elvira, is the real heart and soul of the novel. She is a doorwoman—a sort of concierge/hotel maid/security guard who is the customer service representative to the fussy inhabitants. Because of this, her social status is beneath those of the signoré who populate the building. Elvira dreams of becoming a signora in her own right, saving up money and plotting to buy one of the apartments she anticipates will soon become vacated. She rues the day when she will be an owner and no longer subject to the common complaints of those who live above her. It is achingly clear that Elvira is grooming herself for disappointment, and when her plans fall through, her professional façade crumbles and she loses faith in herself, her friends, and her husband; her hopes of improving her situation are extinguished.

The theme of "lost words" fell flat for me (the Italian title translates to "The Lost Words of Amelia Lynd"). Throughout the first half of the novel, Amelia is revealed to have been working on her own dictionary, the parameters of which are not very clearly defined; regardless, Chino is fascinated and inspired by her work and desires to engulf himself in her project and take it on as his own. The fact that Amelia is only present in the first half of the novel sorely takes away her impact and importance as a presence in Chino's life. Amelia's estranged son, Ippolito, has far more of a presence in the novel than Amelia herself. Ippolito, a not-so-closeted homosexual, enters the lives of this family to take the place of the departed Amelia and manages to unknowingly stir up distress and vicious gossip amongst the residents as his relationships with Chino and Elvira grow stronger.

I always feel uncomfortable evaluating prose style in translation; it's one of the reasons why I didn't review My Brilliant Friend. Italian translations often have a stilted, awkward transformation into English, so I was surprised and pleased by the general smoothness and depth of Gardini's prose. I ran through this novel quite easily, which is not to say that it was simplistic, but that it had a very palatable and creamy (ew, sorry) construction.

Overall, this was a very lovely (for all its violence and frustration) and atmospheric portrayal of seventies-era Milan. It's not the overarching theme, but the interactions of the characters, the humor, and the claustrophobia of the setting that make the novel work.l-italian1 Gattalucy335 137

signori si nasce, ma la culla in cui ti capita di venire al mondo fa la differenza sempre.
Di tutti i romanzi che trattano del microcosmo del condominio quello di Gardini è particolarmente azzeccato. Sarà perchè lo ambienta negli anni 60/70, e mi ha ricordato esperienze di vita vissuta. La mia compagna di banco dormiva nella guardiola della portineria di sua madre, proprio come il protagonista del romanzo, e di questa donna umile ricordo l'orgoglio di avere una figliola che frequentava con profitto il Liceo Classico, mentre i figli degli altolocati condomini a cui lavava le scale, si barcamenavano coi "sei politici" ben sapendo che il "pedigree" del portafoglio di papà avrebbe fatto comunque la differenza. Bellissima quindi l'atmosfera incivile tra i condomini pettegoli. Un po' più "fumose" le altre figure, anche se la formazione di questo ragazzino, alle prese con una "maestra" che gli insegna l'importanza delle parole, è commovente. Sono sicura che il seme della buona scrittura di Gardini germoglierà con vigore in futuro: sono pronta a scommetterci su di lui.2 s Michelle1,109 13


With books in translation, it is sometimes difficult to know if you're responding to the book or to the translation. This is one of those times.

I thought the best drawn character was Elvira, Chino's mother. Without her, my rating would have been lower. It was interesting to me that her story was so strong when she wasn't the narrator. I think I would have preferred if she were. I didn't feel Chino's story in the way I was supposed to. It felt flat to me.

As a language lover, I also should have enjoyed the conversations about words and language, ideas and meaning. That too felt flat, and as a theme, they were not successful.
italy novel translation2 s Marina841 172

Mi dispiace ma questo libro è totalmente insipido. Mi dispiace perché Gardini scrive bene, quindi è un peccato che abbia creato questa storia così insipida. Forse leggerò qualcun altro dei suoi libri.

La storia è interamente ambientata in un condominio a Milano negli anni Settanta. Il protagonista è Chino, un ragazzino di 14 anni, figlio della portinaia Elvira. Il sogno di Elvira è comprare un appartamento e diventare condomina. Il marito Paride è un operaio che pensa solo al cinema e al comunismo (ecco perché è severamente vietato chiedere un mutuo per comprare la casa che Elvira tanto vorrebbe). Chino a un certo punto fa amicizia con l'anziana signora Lynd, appena entrata a vivere nel palazzo, che lui chiama la Maestra perché gli insegna tante cose, a partire dall'inglese.

Non è tanto la storia ad avere importanza quanto la descrizione di uno spaccato di vita rappresentato da questo condominio milanese degli anni Settanta. In questo, per carità, Gardini riesce senz'altro, però mi aspettavo un romanzo con un po' più di trama. Forse erano le mie aspettative ad essere sbagliate e sono ingiusta nel dare 1 stellina, ma il voto riflette soltanto il mio personale piacere nel leggere il romanzo.fiction italy1 Francyy589 66

Resta qualcosa di incompiuto quando si arriva al termine di questa lettura che ha molti spunti, forse addirittura troppi, ma che non si comprende dove voglia arrivare. Ben scritto, una ambientazione accattivante, quasi cinematografica, ma poi si resta sospesi2023 Brenna32 1 follower

Genuinely enjoyed this one! I've never read a book quite it. Had some questionable bits but overall was an intriguing story, well written and entrancing. Left the book feeling I further understood the boys story and life2019 weirdo-little-books Elena Favaro308 9

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