Don Pino Puglisi is a ray of light in the bleak Palermitan suburb of Brancaccio. More than fifty years ago, he was brought up in this claustrophobic neighbourhood and now, as a priest, he has returned to minister to his flock. And to the children most of all. For Brancaccio is a hell on earth. Dominated by the Mafia, it is a place without hope, without prospects, overlooked by the government ministers who are too frightened, or too corrupt, to intervene. There is no middle school; there are no parks; no space for children to grow. And so Don Pino comes home to fight for Brancaccio’s visibility: to campaign for a better world. Love, hope, compassion: these are things which challenge the Mafia’s stronghold and which try to make hell a better place. But of course the Mafia don’t take kindly to meddling priests. Gritty and heartbreaking, this is a story of one man’s struggle to change the world. It will appeal to those who’ve read Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, but there’s a twist in the tale; for this is a true story...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2019/02/16/what-hell-is-not-alessandro-davenia/ ( )

“Take away love and you will have hell. Give love and you will have what hell is not.” Father Pino

In Palermo, Sicily in 1993, violence runs rampant in the Brancaccio section. Mafia bosses incite fear into the hearts of the teenage boys there. That fear is what causes these young teenage boys to carry guns as they begin to test their own violent tendencies. One teenager, Federico, is more privileged than some in Palermo. He is a lover of words and has been nicknamed “Poet”. His teacher, Don Pino, has asked him to help him at the youth club. A whole new world opens up for Federico as he gets to know what some of these young boys face each day. When Don Pino is murdered by the mafia, it is left to the young Federico to continue his loving work.

This book is based on the real life of Giuseppe Puglisi, which makes the story even more poignant. I can’t help but think of the author as being the teenage boy, Federico, since they both have the heart of a poet. Each short chapter of this book is a work of poetic beauty, some showing the transformative power of love and some showing the devastation that hate brings into the world. The author’s poetic wording is in sharp contrast to the ugliness of some of the events in the book, which makes the horror seem even more horrific. It’s not an easy book to read. First, there are some hard-to-read violent parts, though the author does not resort to using gore to shock his readers. Also the writing style of the author took me some time to get used to and may not be to every reader’s taste. He doesn’t always make it clear who’s speaking and because his writing is so poetic, I didn’t always understand what he was trying to say. It was quite a slow read due to that. But there are moments of beauty in his writing that make the effort well worth it.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publicist in return for an honest review. ( )

Federico tiene diecisiete años y el corazón lleno de preguntas a las que la vida aún no ha le ha dado respuesta. Las clases han terminado, el verano se abre ante él deslumbrante y misterioso, como su ciudad: Palermo.

Con la emoción del testigo y la fuerza del escritor, Alessandro D’Avenia narra un largo estío en el que todo parece inmóvil y devuelve a la vida a un hombre extraordinario, un hombre sencillo capaz de generar la única épica posible: la épica cotidiana, conquistándola paso a paso, en la frontera entre la luz y las sombras, las palabras y el silencio.

Aunando el antiguo aliento de las narraciones corales con la intensidad de las evocaciones, esta novela nos habla de nosotros mismos, de la posibilidad ―si somos capaces de volver a mirar la vida con los ojos del niño que fuimos― de reconocer también en medio del polvo lo que no es el infierno.

Quello che scrive D'Avenia è sempre qualcosa che ti rimane dentro e che colpisce dritto il cuore, senza lasciar spazio a nient'altro, segnando la tua vita. Una volta che si legge “Ciò che inferno non è” andrai sicuramente a cercare il tuo porto, come lo scrittore ripete quasi ossessivamente nel corso della storia del romanzo. Impossibile anche non riconoscersi nella figura di Federico: un ragazzo innamorato della vita e dell'amore per Lucia, la portatrice di luce, il porto di Federico, il porto in cui si rifugerà, cambiando prospettiva di ogni cosa. Ma è anche impossibile non riconoscersi in Padre Pino Puglisi, 3P, martire della Mafia, immolatosi per il suo porto, per assicurare alla sua Palermo una piccola speranza in più. D'Avenia ci lascia sempre più sorpresi, sempre più innamorati delle sue storie, che, in fondo, sono “sempre delle storie d'amore”. Ma ciò che più rimane impresso, dopo aver letto questo libro, è il “consiglio” di trovare, -anche in mezzo alla polvere, ciò che inferno non è- anche nell'inferno più profondo. ( )