An audio book.
Lombardy. "Paradiso" is the (nick)name for the residence of the first-person protagonist, Graziella. When her cousin is killed in the village by the Nazis (she sees and smells his bleeding body on the table), his mother poisons 12 Nazi soldiers. The children of the village are quickly sent away to a nunnery. There Graziella learns to read and write, and learns about right and wrong. She prays, and sometimes her wishes come true. Her father was crippled in an accident at work. He's given a job by a charity tidying a graveyard, but he struggles. When she returns, she's not the only one trying to find a way to live. People return wounded in various ways. Salvatori from Naples shows them how to sun-dry tomatoes. A friend's father starts a cooperative. A teacher punishes her even though she's innocent and is sacked.
She meets rich Francesco, 2 years older than her. They have their own church. His father's an atheist. 2 women chase Salvatori. A church-fund event fails. There's a school trip to Cremona. Her father dies. At her new school she meets Francesco, who's no longer rich. His father's dead. She's 13, he's 15. He helps her with schoolwork. They fall in love.
More than once a construction like "brown in colour" is used. A few interesting anecdotal details. Not enough of a story or ending.
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