"I'm Not Scared" by Niccolò Ammaniti

I heard about this one from another book blogger (I think . . . but then I looked for the review so I could link to it, and couldn't find whose it was). The book jacket tells me that the main character, nine-year-old Michele, lives in a tiny village in southern Italy and "discovers a secret so momentous, so terrible, that he dare not tell anyone about it." I just had to know what this terrible secret was. Just after I started reading it, I remembered I'd heard that a movie was made from this book, so I went to order it on netflix, and found that the synopsis there was not so kind and spoiler-free. Dang it, I kind of ruined it for myself. And I had been so excited about the book until then.

Even though netflix told me more about the book than I wanted to know (and it was really only two tidbits, but they were big huge major main tidbits), it was still a very gripping read. A potboiler, maybe, but well-written and never boring. I truly enjoyed every minute, and it went by quickly. Being quite a plot-driven book, I wasn't inclined to gather many profound thoughts while reading (not that my thoughts are especially profound in general), but I will mention that I was just sure someone was going to get eaten by pigs.

Knowing how it felt to read the spoilers on netflix, I'm not going to reveal any more of the plot here, so those of you who haven't read it can thank me later. But if you have read this book, I want to ask you some questions. First, do you think Melichetti knew what was going on, especially at the end? I wasn't sure if he usually sat on his porch with a shotgun on his knees, or if he was doing this because he knew what was behind his house. Second, and more importantly, what do you think happened to Filippo? I prefer to think that he managed to get away in all the confusion, and lived happily ever after. But apparently your guess is as good as mine.