Anna - Niccolò Ammaniti

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With Anna, Ammaniti returns to what he does best. Showing the world from a child's point of view. We usually call these kinds of stories "young adult" now, but that doesn't mean they're just for kids. Anna is perhaps even too gruesome for too 'young adults', because Ammaniti does not allow himself to be inhibited in his descriptions. And that's what makes it such a good book.

In Anna we look through the eyes of the thirteen-year-old girl of the same name. The life of a thirteen-year-old girl is not easy under normal circumstances, but Ammaniti places his main character in post-apocalyptic Sicily. Her late mother left her a notebook with survival instructions for her and her five-year younger brother.

The Red Disease

Four years earlier, a mysterious virus advancing from Belgium, the Netherlands and France quickly put an end to the lives of all adults. Children survived The Red Disease, as the virus was called, but still fell prey when they reached sexual maturity. So the disease has something to do with hormones.

There are no adults left to work on an antiserum, but the children in Sicily have the secret hope that grown-ups are still alive on the mainland.

anna - niccolo ammaniti 2 — Anna of Niccolò Ammaniti

From child to adult

In the book we follow Anna on the edge of childhood and adulthood. At the beginning of the story, Anna and her little brother are Astor while they are still on their deceased mother's farm. Anna has convinced her brother that he will be killed by 'smoke monsters' as soon as he steps outside the gate.

While her little brother is lounging around the farm, Anna must travel further and further to gather food for him and for herself. She takes her job seriously. After all, she swore to her dying mother that she would take good care of her little brother. If she doesn't remember, she takes the notebook with directions again.

Metaphor for maturity

Ammaniti writes very visually, so that you can clearly see the dilapidated and plundered Sicily in which children try to survive on the ruins. The novel is a kind of road movie in book form and largely describes the journey that Anna makes with her brother, another boy and a dog.

Along the way they run into others, whom they sometimes have to fear, but from whom they sometimes also receive help. Strange things often happen in a collapsed society, and Ammaniti knows how to describe them well from the perspective of an adolescent. Meanwhile, the 'coming-of-age drama' is also playing, in which the Red Disease is a striking metaphor for adulthood.

Stories within the story

The stories within the story are also well done. Such as the childhood of the dog that accompanied Anna on her journey and who eventually gets three different names, marking the periods in his life. And the tragic history of the boy Pietro, with whom she befriends. Or the twin brothers who run their parents' supermarket long after the economy has collapsed and looting is rampant.

Out too soon

Ammaniti was clearly on top form writing his book. It is a work in which you will recognize much of his earlier work, but which, unlike some earlier works, does have a serious undertone. The lovers of Me and you, I'm not afraid en I'll pick you up, I'll take you will not be disappointed and will be happy to let Anna guide you around Sicily.

The only pity is that the book is already out after 275 pages. I would have liked a little more time with the characters from Anna. The fact that I was able to read this book during a holiday in Italy gave it some added value. Recommended to take with you in your holiday suitcase or on your favorite e-reader.