The Crossroads

Thirteen-year-old Cristiano Zena lives with his father Rino, a gormless neo-fascist, in a depressed semi-rural area of Italy. Rino and his drinking buddies are planning a ram raid on an ATM using a converted tractor while the wary, adoring Cristiano sits in on their meetings. As he watches their half-baked plans unravel, he daydreams about the unattainable Fabiana Ponticelli. He has no idea that something very, very bad is about to happen. Or that it will change his life forever. Niccolo Ammaniti, author of the loved and acclaimed I'm Not Scared, brings an extraordinary blend of tenderness, buffoonery and violent tragedy to this gritty, compelling novel from Italy's industrial wastelands, translated by Jonathan Hunt. 'These anti-heroes create a fast-paced action thriller...The Crossroads is hard to put down.' Courier Mail