Told from the perspective of 13-year-old Chino, Lost Words is a tribute to language and its ability to transcend the differences that sometimes cut people off from one another. At the same time, it's tragic and hopeful, inspiring and heartbreaking.
Chino is the son of Elvira, doorwoman at the working-class apartment complex Via Icaro 15 in Milan, Italy. Elvira has been saving up to purchase a one-bedroom unit in her building. She views this as her opportunity to rise in status, to be an equal with the people she serves and not-so-silently despises. The building's tenants bicker, gossip and behave in petty ways toward one another, behavior that their children are imitating. Chino quietly observes this hostile environment, until Amelia Lynd takes up residence on the fifth floor.
While the rest of the building views Amelia as an oddball because she politely refuses their offers of hospitality, Chino discovers an amazing new world through this eccentric, elderly British woman who daily invites him to tea and introduces him to language and literature. The cramped little corner Chino has lived in all his life expands exponentially through his interactions with Amelia, until she abruptly cuts off their regular lessons, leaving Chino feeling abandoned and confused.
Nicola Gardini's first work translated into English delves into the culture of 1970s Italy, but his themes are timeless and will resonate with readers around the globe. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts