The Eight Mountains

The Eight Mountains

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher (through NetGalley) in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Eight Mountains by Paola Cognetti is a story of friendship and family. Pietro and Bruno meet in Italy as young boys, and share their summers together. While Pietro goes back to Milan in winter, Bruno stays near the mountains tending to his family’s livestock. Eventually, Pietro goes to college and their summers together come to an end.

A lifelong friendship despite large spans of being apart, they are reunited later in life. The story is mainly focused on character development and less on plot.

While enjoyable to read, I did not feel a strong connection to any of the characters. Pietro as the narrator often seemed to lack an understanding of his friend (and others), and this may have been the primary contributing factor.

I wanted more from this book, and in the end it did not deliver.

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