Giuseppe Culicchia's 'Le pays des merveilles' Explores Teenage Rebellion in 1970s Italy

Giuseppe Culicchia's novel 'Le pays des merveilles' (Éditions Albin Michel) is set in 1977 Italy, a period marked by terrorism, the Red Brigades, and the punk movement. The story follows two 14-year-old boys: Attilio, son of a Catholic mother and absent father, with a sister Alice living in Milan and an anarchist grandfather, and Francesco Zazzi (nicknamed Franz), from a wealthy family who admires Mussolini, Hitler, and punks. They discover Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Bowie, and Hendrix. The narrative progresses in short, visual sequences punctuated by the decade's sounds. Attilio learns from TV news that his sister was an activist killed by police, fueling his rage. Culicchia, born in Turin in 1965, was discovered in 1984 by writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli and featured in the anthology 'Gangband'. His earlier books 'Patatras' and 'Paso Doble' captured the era's seismic attitudes through original language. He co-wrote a book on The Clash and translated Bret Easton Ellis's 'American Psycho' and 'Less Than Zero'. The novel blends teenage life with the grand history of Italy's violent years, including protests and Red Brigades attacks.