Eighteen-year-old Luca lives in Sicily, a stunning yet stifling place where jobs for young people are few
and far between. It’s also an island where African refugees, like the young Ahmed, continue to arrive.
Luca spends his days selling tickets at a museum and daydreaming about Sofia, until an old puppeteer
named Matteo appears on the scene. Matteo challenges Luca to pick up books, start giving tours, and weave stories of his own. But why does Ahmed linger in the city? Doesn’t he realise that refugees here are all too often easy targets for the ruthless mafia?
The Boy from the Island of Gods is the third part in the Italian trilogy, and can also be read as a standalone novel.
‘The Boy from the Island of Gods is a love letter to the country. The sun, the temperament, the scooters, the steaming plates of creamy pasta, the close-knit family ties, the bickering old folks – everything is
described with such passion that you can really feel the writer’s abiding love for Italy.’ – Trouw
