Synopsis: The Book of Hidden Things starts with a Pact. Four friends agree that on a specific day, time, and place every year they will return to their hometown in Southern Italy. They are unsure, after so many years, why they still adhere to this Pact, but none wish to be the reason their enduring bond is broken. Except this year, one of them does not show up. Art, the charismatic and brilliantly curious leader of the group is missing. His phone unanswered, his house messy but empty.
In attempting to discover what has happened to Art, his friends Fabio – a photographer whose life is unravelling, Tony – trapped in a conflict between his sexuality and spirituality, and Mauro – the sensible one, disappointed with the route his life has taken, get drawn in to a world fraught with magical possibility and danger. They believe his disappearance now is linked to his disappearance as a fourteen-year old, but without knowing what happened then, they struggle to discern what the truth might be.
The Book of Hidden Things walks the line between two worlds – a world of the supernatural, filled with spirits and mystery, and the traditional world steeped in religion and fear of the mafia who control the goings on. Split between the points of view of Fabio, Tony, and Mauro, each man has his own distinct voice as they put together the pieces of Art’s life, ultimately discovering a book that he has written which attempts to explain the unexplainable: The Book of Hidden Things.
Review: This book is intensely readable. So quickly you are drawn into the world of the four friends, both due to the detail in which Salento is described, oppressive through its tradition and heat, and through the thrilling nature of Art’s disappearance. The way Dimitri manages to balance the different elements of fantasy, thriller, spirituality, and supernatural is impressive. In a lesser author’s hands these elements could feel like a mix of literary techniques just forced together, but this is not the case for this book.
Continue reading “The Book of Hidden Things – Francesco Dimitri”
Pages of Eden 