Chiara comes from a long lineage Florentine family. The family is decrepit, like their old villa, with no money really left. Chiara is the eighteen-year-old daughter of this family, full of life, very innocent, and a bit lost. The only thing she is sure of is that she wants to marry Salvatore, a young doctor. Salvatore is quite a weird character, emotionally detached, with bizarre reactions to his surroundings. They marry, they quarrel, … a young couple. Chiara also has Barney, her eccentric and English best friend, described as a giantess, her cousin Cesare, who speaks with parsimony and her aunt Mad, an excellent diminutive of her name. Set in and around Florence, the story is a nice telling of the 1950’s Italy and the innocence of youth.
“- …Incidentally, it’s struck me recently that in a non-medical sense you understand almost nothing about women.
– I understood enough to marry and produce four children, and I can’t remember noticing any particular
difficulties.
– That’s precisely what I mean, said Salvatore, with forced calm.”