What readers say
super quick read about a young boy, zeno, who goes to prison in italy for killing another boy. in his defense, it was either kill or be killed. the story is told as a series of letters from the boy to his teacher- describing why he did it, the way he grew up, and the interpersonal relationships he’s had throughout his short life. zeno’s father is in prison and his mother is a SW- zeno argues that he never really had the chance to be a kid, he believes that he was handed the wrong cards. he dreams of his mother and his girlfriend and maybe one day getting the chance to be free from the mess he’s gotten himself into. the narrator’s voice is very realistic- you feel like you’re right there in zeno’s mind with him trying to navigate the situation that he’s in. it’s easy to have empathy for him, but also to feel conflicted on whether you should or not after what he did to end up there. i was a little bored by the story overall until i got to the last chapter. i actually gasped out loud, i was taken so aback and did not expect the story to end the way it did.