What Hell Is Not

November 1, 2018
Seventeen-year-old Federico is set to leave his well-to-do Palermo family to go to Oxford to learn English when the beloved priest Don Pino asks him for help with the children of the hellish ghetto of Brancaccio. Federico reluctantly agrees, and, though his initial efforts are fruitless, he perseveres and then meets Lucia, with whom he falls in love. Captivated, he cancels his trip and becomes devoted to Don Pino's cause, to the children of Brancaccio, and, of course, to Lucia. Don Pino's plans to improve the ghetto are ambitious enough to capture the attention of the Mafia, which, concerned that the plans might compromise its control, assaults both the priest and Federico. Will the boy abandon Don Pino, and will the priest abandon his plans? Originally published in Italy and issued here in translation, What Hell Is Not is an examination of the admixture of heaven and hell, of love and hate. Rich in figurative language, which is sometimes heavy-handed, the story is, nevertheless, equally rich in characterization and setting. Hell, it turns out, is losing your freedom to love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)