Description

In this captivating Englishlanguage debut three generations of women must face their secrets and regrets when an old family curse awakens

There has always been tension in the blind house where Valentina lives with her mother and grandmother in the Italian countryside Valentinas pious grandmother often hints at a family curse while Valentinas mother scoffs at superstition its one of the battlegrounds on which they fight to control Valentinas upbringing

But in the summer of 1996 when Valentina is twelve she gets her period for the first timeand the curse suddenly becomes frighteningly real Blood leaks from the walls the house and farm are overrun with frogs the kitchen crawls with flies Valentina is certain that she has brought catastrophe to her house and its inhabitants

In this propulsive comingofage novel of motherdaughter relationships and painful family legacies Valentina is forever changed by the events of one terrifying summer