A bittersweet gothic fantasy of family, friendship, memory, and the uncanny told from the perspective of a blind teenager in Puglia, Southern Italy, set in the same world as The Book of Hidden Things, perfect for readers of Neil Gaiman, Donna Tartt and Haruki Murakami.
Praise God, never the wind
1996 - Luca Saracino is thirteen and has been completely blind for eight months when his parents move to a Southern Italian farmhouse they dream of turning into a hotel. With his brother dropping out of university and the family reeling from Luca’s diagnosis, they are chasing dreams of rebirth and reinvention.
As Luca tells his story without sight - experiencing the world solely through hearing, smell, taste and touch - he meets the dauntless Ada Guadalupi, who takes him out to explore the rocky fields and empty beaches. But Luca and Ada find they can’t escape the grudges that have lasted between their families for generations, or the gossiping of the town. And Luca is preyed upon by the feral Wanderer, who walks the vineyards of his home.
As Luca's family starts to crack at the seams, Luca and Ada have to navigate new lands and old rivalries to uncover the truths spoken as whispers on the wind.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise God, never the wind
1996 - Luca Saracino is thirteen and has been completely blind for eight months when his parents move to a Southern Italian farmhouse they dream of turning into a hotel. With his brother dropping out of university and the family reeling from Luca’s diagnosis, they are chasing dreams of rebirth and reinvention.
As Luca tells his story without sight - experiencing the world solely through hearing, smell, taste and touch - he meets the dauntless Ada Guadalupi, who takes him out to explore the rocky fields and empty beaches. But Luca and Ada find they can’t escape the grudges that have lasted between their families for generations, or the gossiping of the town. And Luca is preyed upon by the feral Wanderer, who walks the vineyards of his home.
As Luca's family starts to crack at the seams, Luca and Ada have to navigate new lands and old rivalries to uncover the truths spoken as whispers on the wind.
Genre: Fantasy
Praise for this book
"Damn, this is good. This is the kind of fantasy that I wish I could write, and I am awestruck." - James Brogden
"Francesco Dimitri is a true visionary in contemporary fantasy fiction. His masterful storytelling has echoes of Alan Garner in its invocation of the landscape of the author's native Puglia and the ancient magic that throbs just beneath the surface. Fiercely intelligent, achingly heart-felt, Never the Wind will live on in your dreams long after the last page has been read." - Mark Chadbourn
"Francesco Dimitri has set himself what would be a daunting challenge for any writer, and he has risen to that challenge with aplomb. The result is beautiful and life-affirming and profound, and I am more than a little in awe. Dimitri is a phenomenon. Read this book. Read it now!" - A J Elwood
"This book is so good that I am speechless. Staggeringly good! An extraordinarily powerful work. Dimitri casts his net into the sea of myth, and brings up a remarkable catch. Family, friendship, horror, humor, wit and deception - I have seldom read a book so powerful." - Ellen Kushner
"A sensory treat! Never the Wind is richly realised, and Francesco Dimitri is a marvel." - Oliver K Langmead
"A coming-of-age story, a tale of old family rivalries and grudges, a supernatural mystery that the blind Luca might be more equipped to unravel than others; Never the Wind is a beguiling thing, that draws you irresistibly into its labyrinth of secrets." - Will Maclean
"Susanna Clarke meets Robert Aikman in this heady, melancholic, nuanced coming of age story. I was utterly entranced by Never the Wind." - Paul Tremblay
"It's a ghost story and a love story, full of life and passion, and knowledge. It's a wonderful book." - Aliya Whiteley
"Never the Wind is a tender and magical take on all the potential - and horrors - of adolescence. Dimitri's writing is full of wonder at the natural world, beautifully mediated through Luca's heart-rending personal circumstances, and a narrative voice full of pathos and wisdom. An utterly fresh take on the coming-of-age tale, with something deliciously awful and folkloric - in the darkest possible way - about the story's triumphant climax." - Ally Wilkes
"Francesco Dimitri is a true visionary in contemporary fantasy fiction. His masterful storytelling has echoes of Alan Garner in its invocation of the landscape of the author's native Puglia and the ancient magic that throbs just beneath the surface. Fiercely intelligent, achingly heart-felt, Never the Wind will live on in your dreams long after the last page has been read." - Mark Chadbourn
"Francesco Dimitri has set himself what would be a daunting challenge for any writer, and he has risen to that challenge with aplomb. The result is beautiful and life-affirming and profound, and I am more than a little in awe. Dimitri is a phenomenon. Read this book. Read it now!" - A J Elwood
"This book is so good that I am speechless. Staggeringly good! An extraordinarily powerful work. Dimitri casts his net into the sea of myth, and brings up a remarkable catch. Family, friendship, horror, humor, wit and deception - I have seldom read a book so powerful." - Ellen Kushner
"A sensory treat! Never the Wind is richly realised, and Francesco Dimitri is a marvel." - Oliver K Langmead
"A coming-of-age story, a tale of old family rivalries and grudges, a supernatural mystery that the blind Luca might be more equipped to unravel than others; Never the Wind is a beguiling thing, that draws you irresistibly into its labyrinth of secrets." - Will Maclean
"Susanna Clarke meets Robert Aikman in this heady, melancholic, nuanced coming of age story. I was utterly entranced by Never the Wind." - Paul Tremblay
"It's a ghost story and a love story, full of life and passion, and knowledge. It's a wonderful book." - Aliya Whiteley
"Never the Wind is a tender and magical take on all the potential - and horrors - of adolescence. Dimitri's writing is full of wonder at the natural world, beautifully mediated through Luca's heart-rending personal circumstances, and a narrative voice full of pathos and wisdom. An utterly fresh take on the coming-of-age tale, with something deliciously awful and folkloric - in the darkest possible way - about the story's triumphant climax." - Ally Wilkes
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Used availability for Francesco Dimitri's Never the Wind