After the death of her father during an unending Leeds winter, Camelia, the young protagonist of this novel, feels as though she is moving through a distant and closed world—a world of absolute consumerism and stereotypical behaviors, where freedom is encapsulated in a garbage can, or in the madness of a mother who lost her husband and her mind on the same day. During the long winter, Camelia learns that only in the language and prose of a novel—not in clothes, purchases, and dreams—will she find hope. And when she meets Wen, a young Chinese man who begins to teach her his language, the first rays of light will begin to penetrate Camelia’s dark world. This debut novel from one of the most promising voices in Italian literature won the Campiello First Novel award and was a finalist for the Strega, Italy’s most prestigious literary prize. Winner Of:Rapallo-Carige Opera Prima Prize 2011Campiello Opera Prima Prize 2011 Premio Strega 2011, runner-upAfter the death of her father during an unending Leeds winter, Camelia, the young protagonist of this novel, feels as though she is moving through a distant and closed world—a world of absolute consumerism and stereotypical behaviors, where freedom is encapsulated in a garbage can, or in the madness of a mother who lost her husband and her mind on the same day. During the long winter, Camelia learns that only in the language and prose of a novel—not in clothes, purchases, and dreams—will she find hope. And when she meets Wen, a young Chinese man who begins to teach her his language, the first rays of light will begin to penetrate Camelia’s dark world. This debut novel from one of the most promising voices in Italian literature won the Campiello First Novel award and was a finalist for the Strega, Italy’s most prestigious literary prize.