Paolo Cognetti

The Eight Mountains Paolo Cognetti

Winner of the 2017 Strega Prize Pietro, a lonely city boy, spends his childhood summers in a secluded valley in the Alps, at Grana. Bruno, the cowherd son of a local stonemason, knows the mountains intimately. Together they spend many summers exploring the mountain's meadows and peaks and discover the similarities and differences in their lives, their backgrounds, and their futures. The two boys come to find the true meaning of friendship and camaraderie, even as their divergent paths in life - Bruno's in the mountains, Pietro's in cosmopolitan cities across the world - challenge the strength and meaning of their connection. A modern Italian masterpiece, The Eight Mountains is a lyrical coming-of-age story spanning three decades, about the power of male friendships, and a meditation on loyalty, being in nature, and finding one's place in the world.