Snow, Dog, Foot

LoveReading Says

Adelmo Farandola is a hermit living in a ramshackle cabin in the Italian Alps. In summer he roams the valleys and walks many miles to the nearest village to buy provisions. But once there, the shopkeeper tells him that he already came last week to stock up. It seems Adelmo’s memory is failing him, and clearly we have an unreliable narrator. When Adelmo returns home he meets a dog who won’t leave him alone and eventually he shares his food with the hungry animal. As winter comes Adelmo and the dog are snowed in, and when the dog begins to speak, it turns out he’s as cantankerous as the hermit. The man and the dog, although starving, make it through to spring when the snow begins to melt. And when they go outside the first thing they see is a man’s foot poking up out of the receding snow. What’s wonderful about Snow, Dog, Foot, aside from the story is the sense of place. There are lots of descriptions of the Italian Alps including the smells, noises, and of course, the snow. By the end of the book, I felt I could shut my eyes and see the place in front of me.

Selected by Claire Fuller, Our Autumn 2022 Guest Editor. Click here to read the full Guest Editor Piece.

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