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(The Times, Magnus Linklater 29/06/05)

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Title: Glowrushes

Author: Roberto Piumini

Translator: Leah Janeczko

Illustrator:

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Date Published: 2022

Format: Hardback

Genre:

Book Category: Fiction

Age Range: 9-11

Original Title: First published in Italian as La Stralisco, Giulio Einaldi editore S.p.A., Italy, 1987

Country of Origin: Italy

Glowrushes

by Roberto Piumini
Age Range: 9-11

As Philip Pullman says “I don’t think I have read anything like this before – a tale of life, death, love and beauty …” Considered to be Italian author Roberto Piumini’s masterpiece first written in 1987, it is now available in English for the first time with a liltingly poetic translation by Leah Janeczko.

Eleven-year-old Madurer is the son of the Burban, who is a great lord with untold wealth in the land of Nactumal in Turkey. He is also very ill and destined to remain within the walls of his windowless rooms in the palace as every trace of sunlight or dust can harm him. His devoted father hires the renowned landscape painter Sakumat from the city of Malatya to come and show his son the world by creating murals on the walls of his son’s quarters. As Sakumat begins to paint, it soon becomes a commission like no other. He spends days with Madurer talking, reading and showing him pictures and together they plan the vast landscapes that will cover the walls. As he does so Sakumat’s relationship with the young boy changes developing into a deep bond of friendship. His desire to show Madurer a world he will never experience grows stronger each day and he knows he must create something very special.

Piumini’s moving prose in this poignant novella lingers in your mind long after you’ve put it down and its philosophical musings and powerful dialogue are so memorable such as when the Burban first meets Samukat. Using a horse analogy, he explains to the artist how he feels. “anxiousness stirs in my breast, and like a strong young horse, the question I must ask you refuses to be still. I believe it will prance within my heart all night unless it is fed the hay that is your answer.”

Or the highly emotive speech he makes when he understands from the doctors that Madurer’s life is slowly ebbing away cannot fail to move anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one – “His body, forever a hesitant guest in this world, is soon to pass on. The blind, powerful force of life – the same that kept me from going deaf as they uttered the words, and now keeps me from losing my mind from this anguish – is abandoning his feeble flesh.”

Glowrushes is a modern classic; a tale that is universal and can be read by anyone of any age. Not only is it a beautiful story of friendship, but it also deals with, love, the fear of loss, mortality, and the wonders of life itself.

Roberto Piumini is one of Italy’s foremost living children’s authors. His books are found in Italian bookshops and schools and have been translated into many languages across the world. He received the Rodari Lifetime achievement award in 2020.

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