How I Lost the War is the first, prize-winning novel by screenwriter Filippo Bologna. Originally written in Italian, it has been translated for English readers by Howard Curtis. The story centres around a young man named Federico, a descendant of the noble Cremona family. He lives in an idyllic Tuscan village which is famous for its thermal baths. However, the day to day life of the village inhabitants is disrupted with the arrival of Ottone Gattai, a greedy, ruthless businessman who plans to revive the renowned spa.

Federico is against his family’s role in the modernisation of their countryside village so with his girlfriend Lea by his side he decides to take action, to let Gattai know the villagers will not stand for this. It becomes clear that their peaceful protest is not producing the desired results and war breaks out between villagers and spa owners.

At the beginning of the book it seems that, with the residence strongly opposed to Gattai’s plans to modernise the village, Federico will not have much trouble persuading Gattai his plans are pointless. However, Gattai has the advantage of money and influence; soon most of the villagers are under his employment. He replaces old lampposts with neon lighting, rough cobbles with paving slabs, and they even up-root the age-old trees in the centre of the village and put up a statue of Gattai’s Aquatrade company logo – a serpent.

The story is told through a unique narrative, it switches from informing the reader of Federico’s family history to the present day. It is unlike any other book I have ever read. Bologna’s description of the Tuscan countryside is perfectly written and it becomes easy to place yourself in the village square, looking at the out of place serpent statue. The plot relies heavily on the setting so it is important for Bologna to paint the picture of the nameless village in the readers mind. He achieves this faultlessly.

Before reading the book I was sceptical as the how well the book would be translated into English. However Howard Curtis’s translation makes it seem almost as if How I Lost the War was originally written in English. I thought that Federico’s girlfriend, Lea, would feature more in the story. However, it was only towards the end of the book that I realised the important part she plays in the story of Federico and his war. How I Lost the War didn’t end at all as I expected it would, the title of the book foreshadows the outcome of the story but I still didn’t expect the final twist.

How I Lost the War is an excellent read and will be sure to look out for Filippo’s books in the future.

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