The latest novel by celebrated author Matteo Righetto, "Soul of the border", will be published in Australia for the first time. A epic western set in the Veneto Alps at the end of the XIX century, it features the De Boer family.
Jole, the protagonist, is fifteen and for the first time she accompanies her father, Augusto, as he smuggles tobacco across the Italian border into Austria. She knows the dangers of the treacherous high mountain passes—border guards, brigands, wild animals, ferocious weather—but she is proud that her father asks her to go with him. Life is hard, and without the extra money Augusto’s smuggling brings in, the family would starve.
When Augusto disappears during one of his trips, Jole must retrace the route he took, seeking a buyer for her family’s tobacco—and the truth behind her father’s disappearance.
Soul of the Border is an epic story of revenge and salvation, a ferocious tale of violence and corruption, and a journey into the wild.
