First published in 2008, Giorgio Vasta’s debut novel, Time on My Hands, has finally been translated into English. Set in Sicily in the late 1970s, Time on My Hands is a cautionary tale reminiscent of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, in which the political awareness of three 11-year-old boys is stirred by a shocking real-life event – the kidnapping and subsequent murder of prime minister Aldo Moro in Rome by the communist terror group the Red Brigades in 1978. Eager apprentices of militant ideology, heads shaved and ready to act without remorse or compassion, the trio decide to kidnap a classmate and hold him in a “people’s prison” before bringing about his terrible end.
A fierce anger is the lifeforce of this book. As the narrator, Nimbus says: “For I was an ideological, focused intense little boy, a non-ironic, anti-ironic, refractory little boy, a non-little boy …” And that’s before his gang begin their quest for a radical perfection, as another boy, the ringleader Comrade Flight, puts it. Vasta’s novel is not an entertaining read but it cannot fail to engage.
cdight@thenational.ae
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Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
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Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
