Thank you to Europa Editions for providing me an eARC for review.

Wow! I was not expecting this book to lock me in a trance. My mouth was at a permanent gape at the end. Nives is lonely. She's losing her new friend. She gets the opportunity to lighten her grief by raining hell on the person who discarded her in her youth. She has revelations and is in a mood for sharing. She is unapologetic and relentless in her telling. She navigates her words to bring forth the best strike. The twist at the end is powerful. I have no words.

This was a quick powerful read that I won't forget. I highly recommend. It is a story of grief, love lost and revenge. Should some truths stay hidden if they will disrupt and cause irrevocable damage?

Another fascinating creative novel published by Europa books.The writtingvis incredible the phone conversation between the characters will shock amaze make you,laugh.Highly enjoyed this novel.#netgalley #Europabooks

I definitely expected something different from this book. I understood that Nives was lonely and she thought the chicken would take the place of a dog or cat, but at first the tangent that she was spewing to the poor veterinarian.
I’m not going to give any spoilers, but I definitely thought the lady was off her rocker at the beginning and would have hung up and called somebody like mental health.

I personally thought the book was slow and I was confused and lost for awhile. I actually put the book away and went to others because I couldn’t stay interested in the characters or the storyline.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

What an absolute treat! A real tour de force of narrative invention. Nives loses her husband of many years and finds solace in – a chicken. Bizarre but true. Then one night her beloved chicken falls into a trance and Nives phones her veterinarian old friend for advice. She gets a lot more than advice. Because she and the vet have a past. And as the hours proceed that past is well and truly turned over. A whole life is exposed in just one telephone conversation, a conversation that surprises and delights and saddens. This would make such a wonderful short play (with the right actors). There’s something almost Beckettian about it. I read it in one sitting as that seems to be the only way to read it – you can’t interrupt a conversation like this one. Excellent.

This beautiful novel tells the story of a woman that doesn't cry when she finds her husband dead or at his funeral. That is how the emotional journey of this book begins. A woman suddenly faced with living a life without her spouse of decades. She finds comfort in one of her chickens, who becomes paralyzed. She has to call a veterinarian that she shares a past with and that is where the story really picks up. Secrets from the past resurface. This book was beautifully written.

Nives is a short novel by Italian writer Sacha Naspini newly translated into English. This story pulled my attention with its upright humour, unexpected secrets, and poignancy. It’s worth mentioning that it is an unusual read for me. I even watched YouTube videos of hypnotising a Chicken. Not to ignore the fact, almost all the novel consists of a long-lasting phone conversation.

The story follows a 66 years old woman, Nives, who falls into despair after her husband unexpected death. After rejecting a suggestion to join her daughter’s family in France, Nives suffers maddening loneliness until she brings a chicken with a chewed-up claw named Giacomina in her life. Then Giacomina becomes paralysed while watching a Tide TV commercial, and terrified Nives calls the vet and her old friend Loriano Bottai for advice. What follows is a lengthy phone conversation of two old insomniac in the middle of the night. Their argument about the chicken’s condition soon leads to banter about Loriano’s wife snoring to his upstairs neighbor Pagliuchi’s long-ago youthful affair with Rosa, a girl who threw herself from the church belfry.

The whole novel is constructed around the dialogue of these two characters. A whole history unveils in a single dialogue swathed in comedy, banter, and pathos. The story felt a bit slow to me but the resolution was superb. I have to say the translation is a bit too idiomatic for me but it’s not the problem. A bitter, cynical, at time a humorous look at the life of an old widow. Highly recommended.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭.

In a sense, when you’re of a certain age, every trace of days gone by seem to be populated by ghosts. Ghosts of feelings, of memories and always those we’ve loved and lost (living and dead). For Tuscany native and widow Nives, who has just lost her husband Anteo, everything in the world feels strange. Anteo had bore witness to her life from the age of twenty to over sixty years old and what is a life without someone to share it with? Unable to cry, not even in the presence of her own grown daughter Laura’s tears, she finds herself besieged by thoughts and restless nights once she is alone in the house again. Until…she brings the chicken Giacomina into her abode, replacing Anteo with “the crippled old hen” and what does that mean about her marriage, if she could patch up his absence with the presence of a bird? It seems a bit disgusting, no? Had she wasted her life with him? Then comes all the memories of their early days, why does she feel so bloodless and numb? Every moment with him seems to have sped by like a flash. Shouldn’t a widow feel bowled over by devastation when her beloved is breathing beside her no more? How bad was Anteo’s love that a chicken is preferred company, a happy substitute?

It alarms her daughter, who is back in France with her own husband and children, to discover by way of gossip that her mother has a chicken living in her home. Has her mother gone mad? Of course, Nives enjoys alarming Laura and asserting her right to do as she so pleases! Just as soon as Nives is content with this new arrangement, the chicken suddenly behaves oddly, becoming still as a statue, as if she is the living dead. Nothing she attempts rouses the hen out of her stupor and her only resolution is to telephone her old friend Loriano Bottai, the local veterinarian and drunkard for the cause and cure. It is this phone call that tells the real story, a conversation filled with surprising humor, intimacy and untold secrets. The readers are privy to stories about the locals, some with tragic ends and others who played the gigolo when they were young, handsome and ‘full of fireworks’. Deaths, affairs, murder- intrigues and mysteries abound.

I devoured this novel, we take a little trip through Nives history and find that those old folks who snore like horn-players were once just as wild as the rest of us. That it’s easy to get yourself snared in traps of your own making and that sometimes truth can make you see clearly. Yes, read it!

Publication Date: May 4, 2021

Europa Editions

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: Unable to mourn after the death of a spouse, perhaps a favorite chicken can make it all better so that you can move on?

BRIEF REVIEW: When Nives Cilleraii 66, loses her husband of 50 years unexpectedly to a stroke she is unable to shed a tear. The couple lived on an isolated farm on the outskirts of Tuscany. Lonely and unable to sleep but determined to carry on Nives finds unexpected companionship in Giacomina "Gia", her favorite chicken of the brood, deformed claw and all. Gia soon begins to live indoors with Nives and seems to be the answer to her prayers. But, when the chicken appears ill, gaze fixed after watching a Tide laundry commercial, Nives panics and contacts her former friend and Veterinarian, Loriano, a man who likes to drink. On this particular evening Loriano has had more than his share yet, he takes the call from Nives and eventually makes several suggestions to wake the chicken out of what seems to be some sort of a trance.

As the extended phone call progresses the two reminisce about younger days, earlier relationships and ghosts of the past which have haunted but remained tucked away until now. Not only does Nives begin to heal and forgive but, the chicken recovers as well.

I love Europa Edition's translated works and I have to say that this one was one of the most unusual I've tried thus far but, it did leave me smiling and thinking. Sometimes you need to do whatever it takes to move on as life, my friends, is for the living.

Translated from the Italian by Clarissa Botsford.

RATING: 3.5/5 stars

Europa Editions consistently publishes important and enjoyable novels and this is no exception. What could be called a “phone call from Hell” this novel is wonderful. A conversation between two old Italians, discussing a timeline that changes their lives. Many thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

I hate to give anything away in this review because this book is so surprising at every turn. All I will say as summary is that Nives is an older woman whose husband passes, she cures her loneliness, and she recounts parts of her life to a friend.

The narrative is almost entirely dialogue between Nives and her friend, who she alternately calls by his first, or last name. Their conversation is lively, emotional, nostalgic, hilarious, and compelling. Nives brings up some big life questions and what matters when it's all over.

Read this for a laugh, surprises, and an incredible story of love, heartbreak, secrets, and curses.

Fantastic read! It's a slim book, so it's a chore to keep from entering spoiler territory, but here goes. In the opening paragraph, we learn (along with Nives) that her husband has suffered a stroke while feeding the pigs, which have begun to include him as their fodder.

Nives has a lot on her mind, and over the course of a couple of days (and a two-hour midnight phone call) she finds redemption without even necessarily looking for it. Hats off to Sacha Naspini for a memorable book. And I know I can't be the first to proclaim that this would make a remarkable play.

Thanks to Naspini, publisher Europa Editions, and NetGalley for the honor of receiving this ARC to read and review.

Four well-earned stars.

Like all Europa choices, this book is outstanding. In the description and the reader reviews I feel like people completely missed the humour. Most of the novel takes place as a telephone conversation, dialogue is so hard to write and this is a masterclass. The pacing and the pauses made me feel as if I was actually eavesdropping on a real conversation. And what a conversation! Nives slowly blows up the lives of at two, maybe three families all the while making you laugh at the absurdities of life.

Nives did not cry at the funeral. "At the age of sixty-six, it is hard to uproot yourself...come and live with you in the Languedoc?...I can hardly pronounce your husband and kid's names." So, Nives Cillerai was determined to soldier on, maintaining her rustic life on Poggio Corbello, her working farm in Tuscany. After spending fifty years with her husband Anteo, Nives now faced a life of solitude. "...it felt unacceptable that the world could carry on going about its own business." She could not sleep. "The disorientation of sleeplessness sharpened her perception of things...she thought she felt Anteo toss and turn in bed...".

"She soon realized that solitude changed everything about life in the countryside...Her tasks were burdensome...not having a living soul around... [It] made her feel like a ghost...". To Nives, Giacomina was "manna from heaven". Gia, a hen with a damaged right claw, was her favorite. "...thanks to her, I haven't had to pack and move to the Languedoc...with her on my bedside table, I sleep right through the night." "Is it normal to replace a husband with a chicken and not to miss anything about the husband?"

Gia looked wooden. A Tide commercial on television was demonstrating a washing machine's spin cycle and the hen's eyes had gone blank. In a panic, Nives called an acquaintance, veterinarian Loriano Bottai, a vet with a drinking problem. Although soused at eight at night, Loriano took the emergency phone call. When asked how to wake a hen who'd gotten stuck on a Tide commercial, Loriano suggested shaking the hen, drumming on a pot or using smelling salts.

A marathon telephone conversation ensued. "Nives' forced solitude had conjured up unexpected ghosts, digging up things from fifty years ago...Loriano tried to imagine all he'd drunk over the course of a lifetime...". He claimed there was no ghost trying to get him to drink. The conversation morphed into gossip about Renato Pagliuchi, born under a lucky star and still an Adonis. Renato was still diving under female skirts. "Wanting something exclusive with Pagliuchi was like signing your death warrant...that's what happened with Rosa...She wanted him all to herself. Maybe Rosa's the one who put a curse on my hen...". What is it like living with death on one's conscience? "...Rosa is that thing we all have which sometimes keeps us awake at night". The lengthy oral exchange revealed entanglements and long buried secrets. Some memories conjured up joy and laughter, others unmasked disception, omissions, or unrequited love.

"Nives" by Sacha Naspini is a thin, but powerful novel that seemingly described Nives choosing animal companionship to mitigate her loneliness. The "sculpted" hen provided a segway to an indepth conversation between two people who become immersed in past experiences. They discuss deep buried secrets, lost love, guilt, and abandonment. As the hours tick by, each bares his soul, the revelations proving to be quite eye opening. Do either Nives or Loriano have the resilience to conquer past trials and tribulations? I enjoyed this read but it may not be everyone'e cup of tea.

Thank you Europa Editions and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The bulk of this story actually unfolds purely through a telephone conversation. The wonder is discovering the layers and layers of drama entirely through two characters’ dialogues to each other, at first fraught with the unsaid, and finally unhinged with release. Personally, the range of melodrama and the abrupt conclusion got to be a bit tiring for me, and I often wanted to reach in and hang up the phone. I liked the idea of unreliable narration taken to its peak - how we communicate and represent ourselves to one another, and how our memories are often the most subjective - but at the end of the book I mostly just felt relief that the melodrama was over and the conversation finished.

Thanks to Europa Editions for providing an ARC through NetGalley.

NIVES-Sacha Naspini
Europa Editions
Translated by Clarissa Botsford



When was the last time you fell NIVES-Sacha Naspini
Europa Editions
Translated by Clarissa Botsford



When was the last time you fell in love with a chicken? You have not met Nives’ chicken, Giacomina in this wise and wonderful new book, NIVES. Giacomina is not an anthropomorphic chicken. She is just a hen with a bad claw.
Anteo and Nives Cillerai live on an Italian farm. It is a working farm where rustic life is difficult Anteo’s death sets the tone early on-a straightforward tumble into a pigpen. Nives herself tumbles into a world alone and finds “Solitude changed everything about life in the countryside.”
That is when Giacomina moves into the house and when she seems to have a stroke Nives has to call the vet, Loriano. The thing about old friends is they know where the bodies are buried, or in this case the body is not buried.
Then begins a conversation where chickens, donkeys, dogs, old lovers, the almost dead, the should be dead are traced through their shared past. Worrying about the future is based on the past and this past is a rondolet of disappointment- Tristi amori-the sorrows of love.
The future is so much more than a chicken in every pot-it is the beauty of the present-the future depends on what we do in the present. What a gift this book is!in love with a chicken? You have not met Nives’ chicken, Giacomina in this wise and wonderful new book, NIVES. Giacomina is not an anthropomorphic chicken. She is just a hen with a bad claw.
Anteo and Nives Cillerai live on an Italian farm. It is a working farm where rustic life is difficult Anteo’s death sets the tone early on-a straightforward tumble into a pigpen. Nives herself tumbles into a world alone and finds “Solitude changed everything about life in the countryside.”
That is when Giacomina moves into the house and when she seems to have a stroke Nives has to call the vet, Loriano. The thing about old friends is they know where the bodies are buried, or in this case the body is not buried.
Then begins a conversation where chickens, donkeys, dogs, old lovers, the almost dead, the should be dead are traced through their shared past. Worrying about the future is based on the past and this past is a rondolet of disappointment- Tristi amori-the sorrows of love.
The future is so much more than a chicken in every pot-it is the beauty of the present-the future depends on what we do in the present. What a gift this book is!

A slim, beautiful novel that takes place during a phone call between a veterinarian and an Italian widow.
Nives husband has died unexpectedly. She does not want to leave her home and her farm to move to France to be with her daughter. In her loneliness and longing for company, she welcomes a chicken into her home. When Giacomina becomes paralyzed she calls her old friend veterinarian Loriano Bottai. A conversation that begins for advice about Giacomina becomes much more. Their late night call becomes one of sharing a nostalgia filled past, of love, loss, laughter, regrets and the rumination that evades our thoughts in the most silent of moments.
Nives is an absorbing character. She is open, honest and one that the reader won’t soon forget.
My thanks to NetGalley, Europa Editions and Sacha Naspini for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Humans are interesting creatures. We feel pain and sorrow, lash out to hurt, laugh and experience joy and anger. But when Nives, a Tuscan, discovers her husband who died in a horrific way, just carries on and walks back to the house, with very little reaction. Her daughter, Laura, is disturbed by her mother's odd laughter and lack of emotion. The author then describes the couple's history.

Those who know Nives are disconcerted when Nives brings her favourite chicken inside the house to keep her company, coddling her and spoiling her and enjoying the eggs she lays. She finds her chicken an excellent substitute for her husband. However, Nives phones the vet as her chicken is discovered as still as a statue, unresponsive. The vet happens to be a friend so they begin talking on the phone. The majority of the book is this one phone call. Nives is obviously lonely and talks and talks and talks, unwilling to hang up, though it's late at night. The vet realizes this and lets her talk. The conversation becomes very...interesting.

This book is unusual in many ways (I am all for unusual!) with very few characters and mainly told through one conversation. But during the conversation we get to know much more about these characters. I really like the premise and story but in ways it just wasn't for me. It was like watching a movie at arm's length. Nives' vocabulary and language were sometimes offputting. I really appreciate how it was written and liked the descriptions. The book reflects humanity throughout, including the ending.

Many people would absolutely love this book so I still recommend it. The reason for a lower rating is due to my preferences.

My sincere thank you to Europa Editions and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this unusual book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.