Het begin van dit boek roept wat de sfeer op van boeken zoals die van Paolo Cognetti of Mauro Corona: een man die koos voor een leven alleen in de natuur en de bergen, ver van de maatschappij. Maar al vlug krijgt dit boek een lichtjes bevreemdende draai. Uit andere besprekingen zal wel duidelijk zijn dat de oude man dementerend is. Niet enkel de afstand tot de maatschappij maar ook ten opzichte van zichzelf wordt steeds groter. Uiterlijke en innerlijke realiteit verbrokkelen gestaag totdat het onderscheid er bijna niet meer is. Morandini heeft er een wat tragikomisch verhaal van gemaakt dat naar mijn idee respectvol blijft en het tragische steeds de bovenhand laat houden over het komische. Een roman schrijven over dementie is niet eenvoudig maar Morandini is daar goed in geslaagd. ( )

This is a slightly odd book that leaves you perpetually uncertain of what is real and what is not. Adelmo lives high in the valley and is a loner. He comes down into the village to buy supplies, but struggles with interaction with the villagers. At first this might be just because he is so used to being alone that he's not good with people, but it soon becomes clear that he is probably suffering from dementia. He doesn't remember a previous visit, but things seem familiar and then he does remember, but forgets. The confusion that this engenders in him is also transmitted to the reader, we're not at all sure what is real and what isn't. And then it becomes clear that this isn't just a case of occasional forgetfulness, there is more to it than that. And then it becomes, by turns, sad and funny and funny in an if I don't laugh I'd cry kind of way.
He is struggling with life reality, caring for himself and the dog. The ending is terribly sad and leaves you with the sensation that it could have, should have, been avoided, but where is the point that the story could have turned? To be honest it's probably too late even at the start of the book. It struck me as a brave attempt to write about a difficult subject. ( )

Senior dementia is not a funny topic for me
Review of the Peirene Press English translation paperback (Feb. 2020) of the Italian language original "Neve, cane, piede" (2015)

This just wasn't the book for me at this time. I am a regular visitor to a senior's home where most of the residents have cognitive impairment. The antics of the old man here are probably meant to invoke humour but it was mostly lost on me. He imagines conversations with the dog and with birds until the final sad conclusion. That actually stepped over into repellent territory for me (no spoilers here) so this just escapes 1 star "did not like" territory due to the sometimes witty reactions of the imagined dog speech.

I'm a regular Peirene Press subscriber and am happy with their continued efforts to publish translated international fiction. This was just a bump in the road. ( )