The book is a gem. The reader, who waited years to read this, was not so great. Arturo roams an island in the Bay of Naples freely with his dog. He never knew his mother, and imagines his largely absent father off on important adventures. Then his father brings home a wife from Naples two years older than Arturo. And Arturo‘s romantic thoughts and puberty clash, bringing an end to his Eden. Language is gorgeous. Too bad I couldn‘t settle in.