Play Audiobook Sample
Swimming to Elba: A Novel Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 715 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
A sensually charged novel about two girls growing up fast in a failing industrial town on the coast of Italy
Anna and Francesca are on the brink of everything: high school, adulthood, and the edge of ambition in their provincial town. It’s summer in Piombino, Italy, and in their skimpy bathing suits, flaunting their newly acquired curves, the girls suddenly have everyone in their thrall. This power opens their imagination to a destiny beyond Piombino; the resort town of Elba is just a ferry ride away and yet they’ve never dared to go. Maybe the future is waiting for them there, or somewhere beyond.
When their friendship suffers a blow, the girls set off on their own only to discover that their budding sexuality takes them further than they expect, though not as far as their dreams. As their choices take them to a painful crossroads, the girls must reconnect if they have any hope of escaping their small town destinies.
In this poetic, prizewinning debut, Silvia Avallone captures the lost innocence of a generation. Harrowing yet ultimately redemptive, Swimming to Elba is a story about the power of friendship, and the way that family, friendship, and economics shape our world.
Download and start listening now!
"Silvia Avallone, 23 jaar, beschrijft het sexueel ontluiken van twee 13 jarige meisjes in een Italiaanse achterbuurt. Het decor is een staalfabriek aan het eind van zijn levenscyclus. De troosteloosheid en de geestesarmoe van de arbeidersjeugd , die zijn vreugde in vulgair vertier en drugs zoekt, beklemt. Tussen het vuil en de rotzooi bloeit zo hier en daar iets moois. Liefde. Prachtig geschreven."
— Marielle (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“An engaging debut.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Readers will devour this richly detailed, sensual bildungsroman.”
— Booklist -
“A beach read for strong-willed, independent souls.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Swimming to Elba Listener Reviews
-
" Scrittrice molto brava, emergente. Vincitrice premio campiello e finalista al premio Strega 2010. Una storia dura sulla vita di due famiglie operaie, lo consiglio. "
— Alberto, 12/28/2013 -
" Rugginoso "
— Tempiirregolari, 12/3/2013 -
" De schrijfstijl irriteerde me mateloos. Kinderlijk taalgebruik, ik voelde me als lezer totaal niet serieus genomen. Personages zo oppervlakkig als wat, en een ongeloofwaardig verhaal. "
— Anouschka, 9/5/2013 -
" Had to quit reading this book. Too much teenage promiscuity, sex, drugs, violence. "
— Laurel, 8/4/2013 -
" Ah, een uitstekende coming of age-roman, my favourite! "
— Hannah, 7/8/2012
About Silvia Avallone
Silvia Avallone is an Italian poet and novelist. Her first novel, Swimming to Elba, published in Italy as Acciaio, won second place in the 2010 Premio Strega. She lives in Italy.
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.