A sensitive boy uses family connections, countercultural encounters, and imagination to survive loss and understand adult life.
Story Structure — 4 Plot Phases
Silence Inside the Family
Peppino grows up in Naples within a bizarre family troubled by marital infidelity and emotional withdrawal. Rosaria's silence and the failed gift of three chicks expose the instability surrounding him.
Key Events
Naples in 1973 — The story opens in Naples during the social changes of 1973. Characters: Peppino, RosariaLocation: Naples
Peppino's Difficult Childhood — Peppino is introduced as a sensitive, chubby nine-year-old boy with glasses. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Naples
A Bizarre Family — Peppino lives within a family marked by unusual behavior and emotional strain. Characters: Peppino, Rosaria, Titina, SalvatoreLocation: Family home
Rosaria Withdraws — Rosaria locks herself in anguishing silence after discovering marital infidelities. Characters: Rosaria, PeppinoLocation: Family home
Family Problems Surface — Peppino observes the family problems created by the adults' damaged relationship. Characters: Peppino, RosariaLocation: Family home
Three Chicks Arrive — Peppino's father offers him three chicks to raise as pets. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Family home
A Fragile Distraction — The chicks give Peppino a temporary focus away from the family crisis. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Family home
The Chicks Meet Tragedy — The chicks ultimately meet a sad end, removing Peppino's fragile consolation. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Family home
Counterculture as Escape
Titina and Salvatore try to distract Peppino by taking him to discotheques and feminist demonstrations. These experiences broaden his view of adult social and political life.
Key Events
Hippie Relatives Intervene — Titina and Salvatore decide to distract Peppino from his family problems. Characters: Peppino, Titina, SalvatoreLocation: Naples
Discotheque Outings — The older relatives take Peppino into the world of discotheques. Characters: Peppino, Titina, SalvatoreLocation: Discotheque
Feminist Demonstrations — Peppino is exposed to feminist demonstrations through Titina and Salvatore. Characters: Peppino, Titina, SalvatoreLocation: Feminist demonstration
Adult World Appears — These experiences introduce Peppino to unfamiliar adult social and political realities. Characters: Peppino, Titina, SalvatoreLocation: Naples
The Loss of a Superhero
Peppino's strange cousin, his best friend, dies after being hit by a bus. The loss intensifies Peppino's need for an imaginative solution to grief.
Key Events
A Cousin's Friendship — Peppino's best friend is his strange cousin, who believes he is Superman. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Naples
The Bus Accident — Peppino's cousin suddenly dies after being hit by a bus. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Naples street
Grief Takes Hold — The sudden death leaves Peppino confronting another painful loss. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Naples
Imagination Gives Advice
Peppino brings his cousin back within an imaginary world as a superhero and master of life. The imagined figure helps him face daily difficulties and interpret adult behavior.
Key Events
Imagination Rebuilds Him — Peppino uses his imagination to bring his dead cousin back to life. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Imaginary world
The Superhero Returns — The revived cousin appears in Peppino's imagination as a superhero. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Imaginary world
The Master of Life — The imagined superhero becomes a guiding master of life for Peppino. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Imaginary world
Advice for Daily Trials — Peppino relies on the imagined guidance to face daily vicissitudes. Characters: PeppinoLocation: Naples
Approaching Adulthood — Peppino uses imagination and experience to approach the complicated adult world. Characters: Peppino, Rosaria, Titina, SalvatoreLocation: Naples
Story Breakdown
Naples Childhood — Peppino's early life is framed by 1970s Naples and his vulnerable position within a strange family.
Sensitive Young Boy — Peppino is a bullied, chubby nine-year-old with glasses who observes the adults around him.
Changing Social World — The Naples setting places Peppino amid the cultural shifts of the 1970s.
Family Fracture — Rosaria's discovery of infidelity turns the household into an emotionally silent and troubled environment.
Rosaria's Silence — Rosaria locks herself away in anguishing silence after discovering her husband's infidelities.
Adult Problems — Peppino is forced to observe family problems that he cannot fully understand.
Failed Animal Comfort — Peppino's father attempts to distract him with three chicks, but the consolation ends sadly.
Three Chicks — The chicks are offered to Peppino as pets to raise.
Sad Ending — The chicks ultimately die, deepening Peppino's emotional difficulty.
Counterculture Escape — Titina and Salvatore introduce Peppino to experiences outside the troubled family home.
Discotheque Visits — The relatives take Peppino to discotheques as a distraction.
Feminist Demonstrations — Peppino encounters feminist demonstrations through his countercultural relatives.
Loss and Imagination — The death of Peppino's best friend leads him to create an imaginative continuation of the relationship.
Bus Accident — Peppino's cousin dies after being struck by a bus.
Superhero Return — Peppino imagines his cousin alive again as a superhero and master of life.
Guidance Toward Adulthood — The imagined superhero's advice helps Peppino process daily events and approach adult complexity.
Daily Vicissitudes — Peppino uses the imagined guidance to face the difficulties of ordinary life.
Adult World — Peppino gradually approaches the complicated world of adults.
Set in 1970s Naples, bullied nine year-old Peppino is watching the world around him as his extended dysfunctional family change. Psychedelic flower power and hippie love is threatening the old traditional southern Italian family. Dad is having an affair and Mom has taken to her bed with depression. Super-mod brother and sister Titina and Salvatore take the boy under their wings, introducing him to demonstrations and love-ins, whilst caped superhero Gennaro visits Peppino even after being knocked down and killed by the number 12 bus. It is the imaginary appearances of this older superman cousin that help the nine-year-old navigate the complicated adult world.
