Accabadora

August 6, 2012
Set in 1950s Sardinia, Murgia’s lovely English-language debut tells the story of Bonaria Urrai, caretaker of the dying, and the life she tries to give to Maria, the unwanted six-year-old daughter of a widow. In the parlance of the Mediterranean isle, Bonaria is known as the accabadora, a word drawn from the Spanish acabar, which means “to finish or complete”; Maria is a fill’e anima, a “soul-child... born twice,” once “from the “poverty of one woman” and again in the care of another. Though Bonaria’s role is to comfort those on the cusp of death, she sometimes—with familial consent—brings about the end for “those who can’t bear to suffer anymore.” Maria, unaware of her adoptive mother’s sideline, takes up dressmaking and eventually attracts the attention of Andría Bastíu, son of local vintners. But when Andría reveals to Maria that Bonaria killed his crippled brother, a shocked Maria flees to Turin to start another new life. Yet despite Bonaria’s secrets, Maria cannot forget her kindness. A touching meditation on life and death and the power of love to bind, transcend, and let go.

September 15, 2012
The bond between an unwanted child and an old woman forms the core of this meditative and moving Italian novel set in 1950s Sardinia. Maria is adopted as a soul child by the village's accabadora, who assists people at their deathbeds. Murgia's third novel traces the unfolding of their relationship and the path of betrayal and reconciliation they follow. The result is a book that is powerful in its overall simplicity, if sometimes employing overwrought language. Murgia has a sharp eye for the villagers' foibles and their traditions of gossip and curses. It's a setting ideally suited for the characters facing the drama of life-altering decisions made during everyday moments. Their conversations on topics touching treacherous ground are particularly remarkable for their insight. The result is an eloquent meditation on the role of death in a community. Accabadora, the winner of several Italian literary prizes, is concerned not only with the bonds between life and death, but also with what it costs to sever them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)