Tears of the Salamander

Starred review from August 11, 2003
Burning questions—about the twin influences of nature and nurture, the true meaning of family, and the possibility of guiding one's fate, to name a few—blaze below the surface of Dickinson's (The Ropemaker; A Bone from a Dry Sea) engrossing, almost operatic novel, set in long-ago Italy. Alfredo has a passion for music and sings in the cathedral choir, and he also has a deep knowledge of fire, so that he loves to tend the enormous ovens in his father's bakery. But when his family is killed in a freak fire, Alfredo goes to live with his secretive Uncle Giorgio in the DiSala ancestral home, a vast and lonely place on the slopes of Mount Etna. There he discovers that his enthusiasms run deep in his blood: for centuries his ancestors have used the power of music to control the volcanic mountain's fire. Uncle Giorgio, however, turns out to have a nefarious plan in store, and Alfredo enlists the aid of two unlikely allies to bring things to rights. Pitch-perfect, unobtrusive storytelling gracefully cedes center stage to the story's near-mythic elements. Thoughtful readers will find much to ponder in the afterglow of this tale of an alchemy powerful enough to transmute a handful of isolated, unhappy beings into a loving family and to change an existence scorched by tragedy into a life worth living. Ages 10-up.

August 1, 2003
Gr 6-9-An intriguing, intricately woven fantasy set in Italy and then Sicily. Because of his magnificent voice, Alfredo is selected to be trained as a choirboy. On his name day, he receives a mysterious gift, a gold charm of a salamander on a chain, from his father's estranged brother. Thus starts this complicated tale that relies on folklore related to salamanders as the spirit of fire and the power of music. After Alfredo is orphaned when his family's bakery burns down, the Prince-Cardinal begins to arrange for the painful and dangerous surgery that will make Alfredo a castrati to ensure that his voice will not change. Claiming that he is Alfredo's only living relative, Uncle Giorgio arrives and prevents the operation from taking place. At first Alfredo believes that his uncle cares about him as he takes him away to Mt. Etna. However, he begins to realize that his uncle is a sorcerer, the Master of the Mountain who can control when it will erupt and spew fire on its environs. Giorgio has Alfredo sing for the salamander, and the beauty of the boy's voice makes the creature cry, and readers learn that its tears have restorative powers. Eventually, Alfredo understands that Uncle Giorgio has sinister intentions for him and begins a plan that leads to the man's ultimate destruction. The story takes many twists and turns, some convenient and some confusing. This latest offering from a master storyteller is not an easy read, but fantasy fans will stick with it, hoping for good's triumph.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.