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Two
reviews
By
Federico Girelli; published in Sindrome Down Notizie, 2001,
n. 2, pp. 58 e 59
GIOVANNI
IS HUNGRY!
I’m hungry! This is the title of a book written by
Alessandro and Francesca Pellegrini Quarantotti, being the
parents of Giovanni, a 34 year-old person with Down’s
Syndrome. This small volume, which is very pleasant to read,
tells the life of Giovanni and of his family by focusing
on a few episodes which are all linked to a different recipe
prepared by the protagonist himself. An original concept
of the authors who offer their experience by playing on
the gluttony of the families connected to DS and of everyone
who wishes to enter a world which for many people is real
life, but for many more remains unknown until a work like
these comes to disclose it. Bon appetite!
A.
Pellegrini Quarantotti - F. Sanjust di Teulada, Ho fame!
(in Italian), Iacico, Rome, 2001.
(It is possible to buy the book via IACICO srl, Via A. Poliziano,
80 - 00184 ROMA, Tel. 064873183, Fax 064873144, e-mail:
iacico@libero.it)
BECOMING
A SIBLING
The character of Radiance Descending (in Italian Festa di
Compleanno, ‘Birthday Party’) is not Jacob Coleman,
a child with Down’s Syndrome, but his elder brother.
The peculiarity of Paula Fox’s work is exactly the
choice of narrating the first years of Jacob’s life
through his brother’s eyes. Instead of dwelling on
Jacob’s progress, the author lets Paul speak about
himself making his inside growth the real plot of the book.
Out of a certain “freshness” come the thoughts
and the emotions of a boy who has seen his own life turned
upside down by the birth of a brother who he does not hesitate
in calling “defective” or even ignoring. Besides,
the barely 82 pages of the book not only contain the ‘little’
but in reality big faults made in good faith by his parents,
but also the description of the very important role of a
smart grandfather or a true friend. Paul’s story finishes
with a tender happy ending, yet devoid of pathetic tones,
maintaining a balance of style which is a doubtless merit
of the whole work. Therefore, I recommend this book not
only to the siblings of people with Down’s Syndrome
but also to their parents, as it offers them the opportunity
to further understand their children……the ones
without Down’s Syndrome this time.
Paula
Fox, “Radiance descending”, DK Ink (reprinted
in 1999 by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers)
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