Book review: Larminuta - Donatella Di Pietrantonio

“L’arminuta” is a dialect word from the Abruzzo region in Italy, used to refer to a child who is returned to their biological parents after being raised by another family, usually due to poverty or because the adoptive family was unable to have children.

But the biological parent’s environment of L’arminuta is in much worse conditions than those of the adoptive parents. She doesn’t understand why her adoptive parents sent her back to such a situation. If they truly loved her as they claimed, this shouldn’t have happened.

Below is my opinion.

I feel indifferent about this book. However, I am grateful for it because it helped me better understand my personal book preferences in two ways. First, I am not convinced by stories told through a teenager’s perspective, especially when written by an author who is no longer a teenager. Although we were all teenagers once, we can’t fully recall or convey our teenage thoughts and experiences accurately. This may be one reason I am obsessed with Testimone Inconsapevole—perhaps because the protagonist and the author belong to the same generation, making it feel more authentic and relatable to me than L’arminuta.

Second, family-themed books are not my taste. In 2024, I went to the Bangkok book fair and asked editors and booksellers at each booth to recommend books that explore human thoughts. Every one of them recommended a family-themed book as their first suggestion. That moment reminded me of my experience reading L’arminuta, and I finally realized that books about family are simply not my preference—at least for now.

L’arminuta has been adapted into a movie, proving its popularity. Family-themed books are also among the best-selling literature published in Thailand. L’arminuta is a good book, but it’s just not my taste. However, it’s not a book that left me completely lost, like The Landlady. So, give it a try yourself.