No tengo miedo

Por Niccolò Ammaniti

«Justifica la celebración de su décimo aniversario y sus cerca de 1.400.000 ejemplares vendidos» (Gian Arturo Ferrari, La Repubblica), «Ammaniti revive admirablemente el mundo de la infancia, sus códigos, sus secretos, sus temores y preguntas, las insignificantes y las esenciales» (Bruno Corty, Le Figaro), «Una obra maestra» (Michael Dibdin, The Guardian).

El verano más caluroso del siglo. Cuatro casas perdidas entre los trigales. Seis niños, en sus bicicletas, se aventuran por entre los campos. En medio de ese mar de espigas, hay un secreto espeluznante que cambiará para siempre la vida de uno de ellos, Michele. Para afrontarlo deberá encontrar fuerzas precisamente en sus fantasías de niño, mientras el lector asiste a una doble historia: una que es vista con los ojos de Michele, y otra, trágica, que afecta a los mayores de Acqua Traverse, miserable caserío perdido entre los campos de trigo. El resultado es un relato poderoso y de una absoluta felicidad narrativa, donde se respiran atmósferas emparentadas con Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer o los Cuentos populares italianos de Italo Calvino y que mereciera en su momento los premios Viareggio y Strega. Novela del descubrimiento de uno mismo a través del peligro más extremo, y de la necesidad de afrontarlo, No tengo miedo es un adiós desolador a la edad de los juegos. «Justifica la celebración de su décimo aniversario y sus cerca de 1.400.000 ejemplares vendidos» (Gian Arturo Ferrari, La Repubblica), «Ammaniti revive admirablemente el mundo de la infancia, sus códigos, sus secretos, sus temores y preguntas, las insignificantes y las esenciales» (Bruno Corty, Le Figaro), «Una obra maestra» (Michael Dibdin, The Guardian).

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: Editorial Anagrama
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 3 nov 2011
• ISBN: 9788433933256

Niccolò Ammaniti

Niccolò Ammaniti (Roma, 1966) es la gran figura literaria italiana de su generación, alabado por la crítica, galardonado con el Strega y el Viareggio, los premios más prestigiosos, con incontables lectores y traducido a 44 lenguas. Entre sus novelas destacan Te llevaré conmigo y No tengo miedo, que serán recuperadas próximamente por Anagrama. De él se ha escrito: "Está en lo más alto del muy fecundo y brillante grupo de jóvenes escritores de nuestros días" (Renato Barilli); "Un talento extraordinario, el escrito más versátil" (Antonio d'Orrico); "La nueva palabra italiana para el talento es Ammaniti" (The Times); "Ammaniti ha creado un retrato convincente de la Italia contemporánea, y ha aportado un necesario contrapeso a los retratos románticos y turísticos del país. Y aun así, a pesar de la dureza de su mundo, el calor humano burbujea entre sus grietas. Preferiría perderme en el mundo alienado de Ammaniti que en muchos otros" (Matthew Kneale, Financial Times); "Ammaniti es un escritor de una gran imaginación y una notable sutileza moral" (Times Literary Supplement).

Vista previa del libro

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Comentarios para No tengo miedo

[iambookish-1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

This was one of those uncomfortable stories that I'm not at all sure I even want to finish once I start reading, but since it was such a slim book I carried on with it. It was cringe worthy, but the writing wasn't the best or the worst I've encountered. I can see why it was turned into a movie because it read more like a screen play than a novel.

[jayne_charles_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I liked the simplicity of this, the way the prose transports you to a tiny village community in Italy where you can feel the dust and smell the grass and yet doesn't include long descriptive passages. Seen through the eyes of a nine year old boy, it's a story of grinding poverty and inequality in a community with something rotten at its very heart. Cleverly, the author allows the reader to grasp what is going on without the narrator getting the true picture. I somehow had a feeling, as it gathered pace towards its conclusion, that it was winding up to drop me at the moment of the very highest drama, but let's face it there are books where you can forgive that.

[nickelini · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I struggle to describe this 225 book without giving anything away, so I'm going to be a little vague here:In the heatwave of 1978, 9 year old Michele discovers some chilling secrets while playing with his friends in rural Italy. The reader follows his transformation from innocence to horrible realism.I didn't take to the novel at first. I found the atmosphere stifling and didn't like any of the characters. But by page 70 I was gripped by this unusual story. For most of the book, I had no idea what would happen next.Because it got off to a slow start and then ended in a flabby manner, I'm only giving it 3.5 stars. The middle part of the book, however, was excellent.Recommended for: Despite my middle-of-the-road rating, I actually recommend this one quite highly to most readers. I expect I will remember it for a long time.

[kristelh_15 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A novella in length, this story is a fast read. It is written by an Italian author and translated by Jonathan Hunt. The story is set in Acqua Traverse, in Italy. It is in the midst of a very hot summer with no rain. The youth, Skull, Salvatore, Maria, Michele, Remo and Barbara hang out together. Skull is the oldest, making decisions and challenging the others with forfeits. Michele decides to take Barbara's forfeit. He discovers a secret. It is his secret. Michele is afraid of monsters, but his dad has told him there are no monsters, only be afraid of men, they are the only ones that can hurt you. The narrative is in the voice of a nine year old boy who is facing his fears.

[arubabookwoman · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

It is the hottest summer on record, and a group of children in a tiny impoverished hamlet in southern Italy amuse themselves with games and roving the countryside on their bikes, while the adults stay inside to escape the heat. 9-year old Michele is somewhere near the middle of the hierarchy of this group. On one of their excursions, the kids discover an abandoned farmhouse in a secluded valley. On a dare, Michele goes into the farmhouse, where he discovers a body. He tells no one, and as the days unfold the facade of adult morality which has protected Michele begins to crack. Michele's creeping loss of innocence is brilliantly conveyed, as he is placed in unbearable circumstances, with no one to trust.This coming-of-age novel realistically portrays the innocence and horrors of childhood. The landscape shimmers to life. And, as in life, it accepts that there are no easy answers, as it ends on an ambiguous but tragic note.Recommended.

[ursula_2 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

The story is told by a nine-year-old Italian boy, Michele, who lives in a tiny establishment (it can't even be called a village because it's only a row of 5 houses) called Acqua Traverso. One day while he and his group of friends are out biking and exploring the surrounding areas on their own, they discover an abandoned house and Michele makes a further discovery of his own in the house - a boy's body in a hidden area. Michele doesn't tell his friends about it, but he can't stop thinking about it either - is the boy dead or alive? How did he get there? Should Michele tell anyone about it, and if so, who?It's a short book (only 200 pages in hardcover) but there is a lot of story packed into it. The beginning is a taste of what you'll get from the reading experience: you're dropped into a vivid scene of friends racing in the heat of the day during one of the hottest summers in memory. Michele wants to win, but he is also supposed to look after his younger sister, who seems to always need something from him at inopportune moments. The narration really captures the flavor of being young; thinking you understand things but still open to magical explanations, the first forays into adult decisions and the betrayals and compromises those entail.Recommended for: people who remember childhood for its freedom and its accompanying confusionsQuote: "But even then I knew that someone always gets all the bad luck. During those days it was Barbara Mura, the fat girl, she was the lamb that took away the sins."

[beamis12 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Set during the heat wave in the summer of 1978, in rural Italy nine year old Michele and his friends pretty much have the countryside to themselves. The parents stay in and try to alleviate the heat in whatever ways they can. Michele is only concerned about today, like most children and does not yet think about the wider picture, world events or other things that have affected his town. His only concern is having to drag his little sister everywhere, his friend Salvatore and the unelected leader of the group who can be very cruel. Yet one day, an top of a hill and in a old house everything for Michele will change in an instant.Almost from the beginning, I felt a palpable tension in this book, the heat, the barren countryside and the short sentences all added to this feeling. I found this to be a gripping read of lost innocence as what Michele finds causes him to mistrust those he previously trusted the most, even his own father. By the ending things have happened that cannot be undone and I was left thinking, what a heavy price there was to pay for trying to do the right thing. I was so proud of this little boy for going the extra mile for what he thought was right. Rather short novel but awfully though provoking.

[imyril · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Beautifully written novel apparently inspired by a true story. When nine-year-old Michele loses a race up a mountain, he is dared to climb through the upper storeys of an abandoned house. What he finds there becomes his secret, and change his perspective on his friends, his family and his future. Lyrical prose embraces the child's perspective, with childlike distractions, preoccupations and fears of monsters - even when it becomes clear to Michele that perhaps, as his father tells him, it is time to forget monsters and fear men. Well worth a read.

[lucy_skywalker · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

After so much waste paper I deserved a really good book, seriously. I had almost plegded not reading anything with a child or teen protagonist, but it was great, really.

[presto_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Italy, the summer of 1978, Michele is nine years old, one of a group of six children roaming the countryside around their tiny community. He lives with his parents and younger sister, his friends are not so much of choice but circumstances, only with Salvatore does he really feel any affinity. While out exploring one day the gang finds a deserted ramshackled farm house, and while carying out a dare Michele discovers something hidden in a hole in the ground which throws his young mind into turmoil and causes him to question all that he believes and gradually see the adults in his life in a new and shocking light. A captivating story which truly captures the innocence and naivety of childhood and has the reader hooked from the first pages. Michele, who retrospectively narrates his story, is superbly drawn; no angel he is full of mischief, yet he has a sense of responsibility and dutifully looks after his tag-along but often tiresome younger sister. He also has his own moral ethic with which he has to struggle in the light of events. The dramatic conclusion leaves little resolved, yet one cannot but have feeling of optimism for Michele, a thoroughly likeable and resourceful young lad.

[indygo88 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I picked up this book (audio) after seeing a recommendation somewhere -- it had been sitting on my pile for a while & I'm not sure what prompted me to pick it up this week, but it's one that will stick in my head for quite a while. The story takes place in rural Italy. A 9-year-old boy (Michele), while playing with friends, discovers what he believes to be a dead boy of his age, in a hole in the ground. He keeps the secret to himself, then later returns to discover the boy is not dead after all, but is being held as a prisoner. While he wrestles with this secret, he gradually discovers some ties the boy has with his own father. Gradually, the reader (& Michele) are enlightened as to the circumstances of the boy in the hole. Translated from the original Italian, I don't know if the story lost any of its original appeal in the translation, but I was quite impressed & am chomping at the bit wanting to discuss this with someone. It started out a little slow, but started picking up momentum about halfway through & kept going right until the end. Some readers would probably be disappointed in the ending. I was not -- I found it extremely gripping & not necessarily predictable. This is a story that begs for discussion & leaves the reader frequently asking him/herself "Why?" I picked the book up hoping for a pleasant read. I finished it & put it down being nearly blown away. Highly recommend this one.

[cbjames_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti, translated from the Italian by Jonathan Hunt, is a thriller that slowly builds rather than one that grabs you from the start. This is not to say that the opening sections are dull, quite the contrary. But I'm Not Scared is a thriller that truly earns its big finish, not one that has thrown every horrifying twist and turn imaginable into the story right from the beginning like so many others do.I'm Not Scared is narrated by ten-year-old Michele who lives with his little sister Maria and his mother and father in a small country town in Southern Italy. His small group of friends spend the hot summer months holding various contests and making the loser pay a forfeit by taking on a particular dare. When Michele has to pay a forfeit by going in to an old abandoned farmhouse he discovers the body of a boy his own age at the bottom of a deep hole. Is the boy alive? Why is he there?Michele is ten and he treats the situation as an ten-year-old would, not as an adult would. Instead of telling someone about the boy, Filippo, Michele is too worried about getting into trouble himself to do that, he tries to befriend him. Ten is an age when simple things can be wonderful, like a bicycle, or an old farm house. Finding a boy at the bottom of a hole is a fantastic secret, one worth having and worth keeping. Michele brings him food and water with no notion of just how serious his situation is, until he overhears his father and a couple of strangers having a conversation about Filippo.I can go no further without giving away too much. I'm Not Scared does not become a page turner until the closing scenes of the book, but I would not view this as a fault. The opening scenes take their time, like a lazy summer day, the tension builds slowly, but it definitely builds. By the end of the novel, I'm Not Scared became very hard to put down.

[briannad84 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Very good book! I liked the author's style as well as just the title. A bit scary too with quite a tragic ending!

[mojacobs · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I like Ammaniti's books a lot, and this one best of all. The story is told by nine-year old Michele, who lives in a village with only 4 houses in the South of Italy, with his mum and sister Maria. Dad is a truck driver and often away for long periods of time, and the family is poor. At first it seems we'll just get stories of the antics of a group of young boys, but soon the story becomes darker and develops into a thriller.Expertly written, never a false note, characters beautifully crafted, great descriptions of a child's fears, this book had me in its grip till the finish.

[elphaba71 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I picked this book up in Browsers Books & Cafe in Woodbridge, while on holiday there. The shop has a reading group and this was their chosen book for August. I found this a real Heartbreaking and chilling read. It's a simply told tale, but also speaks of the betrayal of childhood and the nature of the parent-child relationship. The book turns on its head all notion of what is normal, with the essence of good and evil explored subtly and with devastating effect.

[carpe_librum · Calificación: 1 de 5 estrellas]

I'd been looking forward to reading this book for quite a while. Knowing it was about a young child who discovers a boy being kept hostage/prisoner in a hole and and what unfolds next was enough to significantly grab my attention.Reading it however was a completely different experience and a major disappointment. Set in Italy, the translation from Italian to English is extremely noticeable and often interrupts the natural flow of the descriptive sections of the novel. The setting and location felt isolated to me and not well developed. The discovery of the kidnapped boy in the beginning of the book was the most exciting part, and then it was all down hill from there.The middle of the book was frustrating as I struggled with the direction the 9 year old boy was taking with his new found knowledge. There was a slight surprise in the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping which I thought was building to an exciting big 'reveal' at the end which unfortunately didn't happen. The ending was very predictable and reminiscent of 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas', although I'm happy to report that it appears this novel was published first.In fact the ending was so lacking an explanation for the kidnapping that I thought I must be missing a page or two. Perhaps it had fallen out of the library book. This idea kept me going for a few minutes, and led me to the ever faithful Amazon and Google.I guess you could say this is proof of a terrible ending and a great disappointment. The ending went beyond ambiguous to just plain lacking.This was a terrible read, and I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

[marta2303_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This book is amazing and very disturbing. It's very well written and it describes perfectly the horrifying atmosphere of the situation in which the main character found himself in. I have read it in one breath. A much recommended read!

[redh_29 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Excellent - hits all the spots ! Childhood issues, excitement, adventure, fear, friendship, doubt! This will keep you on your toes! READ IT!

[thisismebecca · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

On Not Giving Away the Story: It is difficult to review this book without giving away the story, the "terrible secret" that Michele discovers. I will do my best to explain how I liked it without revealing anything.On Choices: Michele is only a 9-year-old boy yet he is faced with a series of ethical choices, each one more important than the last. It is heart-wrenching to read, but I still rooted for Michele to make the right choices.On Monsters: The above statement about monsters is told to Michele by his father. I think it is a very powerful truth and one that Michele ultimately comes up against in the book.On the Ending: The book ends pretty dramatically and the reader is left to use their own imagination to create the ending. It was disarming at first, but it was such a well-written story that it worked for me. I was left thinking of it for days, and that is a trademark of a good book, is it not?On Recommending: I do recommend this book. It was a suspenseful and haunting story that truly captivated me.

[sharonlflynn_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This is a beautifully written (and translated) book telling the story of 9 year old Michele who, over the course of a summer, discovers a secret so terrible that it shatters his world.I had seen the film before reading the book, so I knew what was coming, but I found myself submerged in Michele's life (simple as it is) and could literally feel the heat and discomfort of that hot Summer. His 9 year old confusion over the motivations of his parents and neighbours, and the distinction between moral right and wrong, is extremely moving. Since reading this I have recommended it to family and friends.

[ambrosia4 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This short, sweet novel is hard to describe without giving anything away. The jacket cover on my copy went a long way to enticing me to read it merely by mentioning that it's about a boy, Michele, who finds a horrible secret while playing with his friends. This happens at the beginning and the rest revolves around his actions in response to that discovery.I was glad I read it, but I didn't think it was amazing. The psychological ideas presented are interesting, but not all that new. The story was different than most along similar suspenseful lines, which made it a nice read. All in all, I recommend it, but it's not something I'd put at the top of my reading list.

[jeniwren_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

This is a quick read and for fear of spoilers not a lot can be revealed in regard to the plot. This is set in a small Italian town where the community are involved a deep and dark secret.

[lunarreader · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A powerfull book illustrating the isolation of small communities. These small communities can be a totally different world for the children then for the parents. A little boy is confronted the hard way with this separation. The author depicts this daily village life covered with a blanket of secrets and crime like the south of Italy is covered by a blanket of heath. It really feels like you're there and like you live through your own, less spectacular, separation with the older generations again. A great book.

[gretchenlg · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Transports you to an Italy that you don't see in the guide books. Thoroughly mesmerising--a young boy discovers another young boy of his age who has been kidnapped. How to help? Should he help? Who in his small village is involved? See the Italian language film if you can. Startling and wonderful.

[gary10_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Short, extremely well written novel that starts with seemingly normal family behavior that gets progressively more bizarre. High tension throughout.

[extrajoker · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

first line: "I was just about to overtake Salvatore when I heard my sister scream."Ammaniti really gets inside the heads of the children about whom he writes. In reading this novel, I was reminded of Michael Frayn's Spies; both books are poignant loss-of-innocence tales revolving around young boys who become entangled in the dangerous intrigues of their parents and communities. I was, however, a bit disappointed by the ending of Ammaniti's narrative: while it's easy to speculate upon the consequences of the climactic events of the story, I'd have liked less of a cliffhanger and more of a denouement. Still, it's a good read, with a strong story and complex characters. I really liked it.

[shell70_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

A depressing story about a boy and his family living in a remote Italian village. Intense and unforgiving, this story has an unusual ending.

[acarbery_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Engaging and suspense-building tale of 9 year-old Michele Amitrano who makes a discovery in an abandoned, dilapidated farmhouse that will change his life, and strip him of his innocence as his world comes tumbling around him when he tries to keep his secret. Heart wrenching ending to an excellent tale.

[blueyonderdreams · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Really, Really great read. Very Intense and powerful.

[nakmeister · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

This is a book translated from the original Spanish, about a small boy growing up in a small town not long after the second world war. The boy finds a discovers something really scary that he must keep secret...It's a good book, full of suspense with a surprising (and ambiguous) ending. It's a short book too so won't take long to read.