Live Bait

Genovesi’s novel of contemporary Italy may be epic in length, but it amounts to little more than the meandering story of one young Italian man’s life in the small town of Muglione, outside Pisa, where nothing ever seems to happen. Fiorenzo Marelli, at 19, is trying to figure out what he wants. Although enrolled in high school, he never goes, spending his time instead working at his father’s bait shop and singing in a band named Metal Devastation. The two defining events in his life are the loss of his hand in a firecracker mishap as a child, and, several years later, the death of his mother. Everything changes for Fiorenzo after he crosses paths with Tiziana, who is 32, beautiful, and vastly overqualified for her job managing the local youth center. The pair have almost nothing in common, but they do share a deep sense of boredom with Muglione, though for different reasons. Genovesi’s narrative may be intended as some larger commentary on the stasis of Italian youth, but, if so, might be too subtle to connect with an American audience. (June)