Once upon a time there was a river

In Once Upon a River , Martha Azevedo Pannunzio invites us to follow, step by step, the playful and moving existential adventure of a boy, his love for the local river and his commitment to life.

A novel of learning, following the narrator from childhood to adulthood, its vivid language bears the author's "trademark": a splendid fusion of country talk with agile poetic fluency. This fusion, permeated by a critical and cultured eye, results in a picturesque language rich in life wisdom—the kind generated by deep living, connected to the roots and essential truth of things and beings, through which life is fulfilled.

A novel in which tenderness, joy, and the strength of life prevail over the natural "mismatches" or losses that generate pain and suffering, Once Upon a River is one of those books that enchant readers from 9 to 90 years old. Each reader can read it with their own eyes, for it reveals a different face to each. This is the great secret of poetry. And it is from poetry that Martha's narrative is nourished and draws its strength.