A short novel of affecting elegance -Vogue Cognetti... delivers a beautiful meditation on
nature love and renewal. -Publishers Weekly A masterclass in high-altitude atmosphere a
sharp portrait of a community and a touching romance all condensed into 200 pages. -Financial
Times As a romance blooms in an isolated Italian Alpine town fate and free will shape the lives
of many in this gorgeously written novel from the internationally bestselling author of The
Eight Mountains basis for the 2022 Cannes Jury Prize winning film Fausto moves to Fontana
Fredda-Cold Fountain-a small remote village high in the mountains having left Milan and an
old love behind. Out of the way and off the beaten path Fontana Fredda is a town that operates
by its own rules sense of time and movement of seasons. Its citizens lead quiet but complex
lives-and Fausto is attracted to that contrast. There's Santorso the former forest ranger who
prefers the company of wolves to humans. Babette the elegant ex-urbanite who after a brief
fling with a mountain man opened a permanent fixture in the village: the little restaurant
where Fausto works as a line cook catering to visiting skiers. And it is there where he meets
Silvia the new waitress. Young cheerful with the air of a world traveler the two quickly
become friends and so much more. When winter ends Fausto and Silvia part ways and return to
their old lives to tie up loose ends. Fausto eventually goes back to Fontana Fredda to find
Silvia only to learn that she has found a summer job in a nearby glacier. There among Italy's
peaceful and picturesque nature Silvia meets a Nepalese mountain guide who introduces her to
the enigmatic teachings of the Buddha. Meanwhile Fausto finds work cooking for a crew of
lumberjacks and makes regular visits up by Silvia. With the turn of seasons Fausto and
Silvia's relationship is profoundly changed by the winds of time.Life as they discover
contains endless possibilities. Structured in short distilled chapters Paolo Cognetti's
luminous atmospheric novel offers an elegant portrait of a budding romance between two kindred
but different spirits united by their attraction to an isolated landscape. Empathetic achingly
evocative and buoyed by an affection for the natural world it is a beautiful meditation on
our infinite search to understand our place in the universe. Translated from the Italian by
Stash Luczkiw
