The Temptation To Be Happy

Lorenzo Marone Oneworld €15.99 Seventy-seven-year-old Cesare Annunziata lives alone in an old apartment block in Naples. A widower estranged from his two children, he avoids his neighbours and occupies himself by railing against the stupidities of the world. But then his mojo is reignited by the plight of a young neighbour who is being abused by her husband. Unashamedly sentimental but astutely perceptive of the indignities of ageing and the loneliness of the elderly, Marone’s debut novel deploys the classic trope of the ‘grumpy old man with a heart of gold’ to immensely charming effect. Uplifting and very much on the side of life.