Francesca Giannone's sweeping yet intimate debut novel, The Letter Carrier--a bestseller in her native Italy--explores jealousy, love, and belonging through the lives of a family and a village in southern Italy.
When Carlo Greco brings his wife, Anna, back to his hometown of Lizzanello in 1934, the locals aren't sure what to make of a woman who reads voraciously, doesn't go to church, and refuses to join in the local gossip. When Anna becomes the town's first female letter carrier, even Carlo is appalled at her boldness. But Anna's unusual approach to life proves a boon for the townspeople: she passes letters between lovers and friends, teaches villagers to read, and tries to give her niece, Lorenza, a sense of the wider world. However, some resent Anna's independent ways, and the clash between their entrenched opinions and Anna's fresh perspective reverberates down through the decades.
Giannone brings her setting to life through sensory details--bitter coffee with grappa, the fresh pesto Anna makes by pounding her own basil--and keenly observed interpersonal dynamics. Carlo and his brother, Antonio, enjoy a close bond, but they both fail to notice key details about each other. Agata, Antonio's wife, is jealous of Anna even as she holds strong opinions about how a woman should act. And Anna herself, though unmoved by others' opinions, nevertheless feels her outsider status keenly, even after years in Lizzanello. Giannone's bittersweet narrative is a testament to the power of connections made and missed, and a sensitive portrait of a woman bravely writing her own story. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams