—Anonymous
When reading the title, I thought this was going to be any other boring book, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it or really follow through. It’s hard for me to actually like a book but as I read the first page, I found the first paragraph humorous, I related to Parviz when he said “I felt sick to my stomach I almost threw up” when an Italian girl was eating a pizza on the metro because I have found myself on the train where people have pizza and it isn’t a pleasant smell to be around in. Throughout the book I thought that there was some big mystery to Amedeo life. We are slowly introduced to his life through the characters stories on how they viewed him and their relationship to him. The end took me off because the investigator tells us who actually murdered Lorenzo and why is wasn’t Amedeo. What now? Does Amedeo die? Does he live? What happens next? What was the purpose of this novel? All these questions came to mind when I finished reading it. Looking back, I realized that what mattered were these different people from different backgrounds connection to Amedeo, the difference between Amedeo and them. The truth that was in front of them, but they limited themselves by pushing away what and who is foreign to them. They clash because they choose to, living near each other you would think they would coexist in a positive matter respecting each other differences but don’t because its unknown to them. I learned acceptance through Amedeo, the way he accepts different cultures and respects them is an admirable trait to have. Amedeo’s ability to learn these different cultures makes me want to learn more and not limit myself like the rest of these characters have.
