The Night of the Malombre
Longlisted for Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi
Longlisted for Premio Strega Ragazze e RagazziMarch 2, 1944. A freight train packed with desperate passengers departs Naples in the dead of night, heading for the Lucanian countryside, where food might still be found. On board are hundreds of civilians: smugglers, mothers, soldiers, children, and three teens who don’t know each other — yet. Brando, a boy forced to grow up too soon, climbs aboard to find food for his sick little sister. Nora, daughter of a respected doctor, is on a journey with her parents to search for her missing brother. She is tormented by terrifying visions of dark spirits — the malombre, ancient shadow-creatures that slip between worlds and steal the breath of the dying. Rocco, a scugnizzo from Naples, boards the train with his friend Ciro, hoping to make money on the black market. As the train rumbles south through wartime Italy, the passengers face bombings, cold, and chaos. But deeper than fear or hunger is the sense of something else — something wrong. Nora’s visions grow more intense. She sees shadows crawling over the roof of the train, slipping into the cars, touching the sleeping passengers. No one believes her. Until it’s too late.
Inspired by the real-life tragedy of the 8017 train, one of the world’s deadliest railway disasters, long forgotten by history, a powerful, haunting story of courage, death, and love.
A story by Book on a Tree
By the same author or illustrator
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