Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan by Domenico Starnone

Blurb from Goodreads

Imagine a child, a daydreamer, always gazing out of the window. His grandmother, busy in the kitchen, keeps an eye on him. The child stares at a balcony on the opposite building, watching the black-haired girl as she dances her reckless dance. For a love like this, a child can push himself to extreme feats. He can turn into explorer or cabin boy, cowboy or castaway; he can fight duels to the death, or even master an unfamiliar language.

His grandmother is not articulate, but does not lack imagination, and her love for the boy is immeasurable. She tells him about the entrance to the underworld, engraving indelible images in her nephew’s mind.

An irresistible book, as sharp as the swords of fantasy hidden under the bed, as precious as a family jewel, in which the discovery of love and the discovery of death follow each other, marking the end of childhood.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Well, technically it should be “Happy Tuesday everyone!” Today is Christmas Eve! The rush is on but I know that many are looking forward to Christmas; at least those of us who celebrate. Many offices were empty and the roads were less congested yesterday. Many have already gone to the provinces to avoid the holiday rush. For those who do not celebrate Christmas, I still wish you all a good day. I hope that you will be showered with blessings and good news. It is the start of yet another workweek but thankfully, today and tomorrow are holidays in the Philippines. I know. Most of us are not looking forward to Mondays because most of us are suffering from a weekend hangover. Still, I hope everyone had a great start to the week. I surmise that our brains have already gone on vacation. I know mine did. I hope everyone makes it through the week. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit.

Time does fly fast. Today is the second to the last Goodreads Monday update for 2024. In a matter of days, we will be welcoming the new year. I hope that 2024 has been good and that the remaining days of the year will be filled with kindness, blessings, and good tidings. I hope your prayers have been answered and that you have gained a sense of inner peace. I hope that everyone’s hard work has been repaid. I hope that everyone has achieved all their goals this year. I am happy to announce that I have already completed my 2024 Top 24 Reading List and my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge. Unfortunately, I am yet again going to fail my 2024 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List. I still have two books from the said list I have yet to read. Nevertheless, I am glad that I was able to complete my two most important reading goals. Currently, I am in the midst of a mini-Japanese literature run before the year ends. Interestingly, 2024 is the first year in a while that I did not hold a Japanese literature month although I was able to sneak in a couple. I am looking forward to reading Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, The City and its Uncertain Walls.

Back to this weekly book meme. With no specific reading theme in the past few months, the books I have been featuring in this weekly update are an eclectic mix, although some share similarities. For one, they were all published this year, or at least their English translations were released this year. Some are books that are listed as among the best novels of 2024 by literary pundits and magazines; I have been patiently perusing such lists to look for books that I can include in my perpetually growing reading list. Among the books I encountered in such lists is Domenico Starnone’s The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan. Before this year, I had never encountered the Italian writer but the book immediately piqued my interest. The book was listed by the New Yorker as one of the best books of the year.

Apparently, Domenico Starnone is quite accomplished as a writer, journalist, and screenwriter. He boasts a prolific literary career that spans decades. His works have won a plethora of recognitions across the world. He is even rumored to be the writer using the penname Elena Ferrante, a prominent name in Italian literature in the past decade whose real identity remains a mystery. Regardless, I am happy to have encountered another name whose oeuvre I would want to explore. Some of his works were translated by award-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri. His most prominent work, The House on Via Gemito (2000) won Italy’s highest literary prize, the Strega Prize and was also longlisted for the 2024 International Booker Prize. The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan also looks like a great springboard to kick off my foray into his body of work.

For now, I just hope I get to obtain a copy of the book. How was your Monday, Tuesday rather? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!