Watching Over Her

Winner of the Prix Goncourt, this sweeping tale from Andrea (A Hundred Million Years and a Day) comprises a dying artist’s account of how he came to make his mysterious sculpture of the Virgin Mary mourning the crucified Jesus, which is kept shrouded in the vaults of a cliffside Italian monastery. In the frame narrative, Michelangelo “Mimo” Vitaliani, 82, lies on his deathbed at the monastery in 1986. A little person, he sparks fascination from the monks he’s been living with for 40 years, who wonder what brought him there, given that he never took the order’s vows. The monks also obsess over the sculpture, also known as a pietà, which their abbot hides “out of fear of the impure thoughts” rumored to be provoked by Mary’s face. Recounting his life story to the reader, Mimo tells how, as a young boy, his stoneworker father dies and his mother sends him from their French village to apprentice with his sculptor uncle, Alberto, in Italy. At 13, Mimo befriends the intelligent and strong-willed Viola Orsini, who’s the same age and whose father owns an orange grove. Though Alberto despises him for his superior talent, he develops a close bond with Viola. Amid a series of tragedies and betrayals, Mimo toils in Florence and later joins the circus. His friendship with Viola is tested when he begins sculpting for the ascendant Fascist regime, which she vehemently opposes. In a breathtaking twist, Mimo reveals just how Viola came to inspire the pietà. Throughout, Andrea blends the tumultuous history of 20th-century Italy with finely wrought character work. It’s a marvel. Agent: David Forrer, InkWell Management. (Jan.)