Spit Three Times

In the Italian countryside, Guido and his friends Moreno and Katango spin out their days in languor and boredom intermixed with desire and, occasionally, violence. Nearby live the Stancic, a family of Romani who escaped the communist regime of Marshal Tito and settled here just after World War II. Guido's coming-of-age is changed by the evolving relationship that the rural town has with this group of outsiders, these "gypsies." The author is unsparing in his depiction of the townspeople's cruelty. And yet, there are also many instances of solidarity between Guido's community and the Stancic.