“Tragedy is not when you can’t be yourself. It’s when being yourself only means being what other people want.” At the age of twenty-six are you grown up or not? Four friends, these “Charlie’s Angels,” go to the gym to rid their soul of the poison of routine. And there, Stefania meets Stefano — Stefano, whom she calls Tendina, with his long and delicate neck, who gives off the scent of sandalwood. And why should she resist anyway? A relationship between a fifteen-year-old and a twenty-six-year-old is hardly ridiculous, it’s not even a case of pedophilia. It’s a relationship, that’s all.
A witty, tender love story about a 26-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy. Never sensational, the prose delights and the story captivates. Published in Italy last year, Montrucchio recently won Italy's prestigious Calvino Prize for her work.
Translated by Sharon Wood.
About the Author
 ALESSANDRA MONTRUCCHIO was born in Turin, Italy, in 1970. She has worked with such publishing houses as Einaudi and Mondadori as well as for La Stampa. Montrucchio’s first collection of stories won the prestigious Calvino Prize in 1995. Cardiofitness is the first of her work to be published in English.
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The Critics Praise:
“It’s no small accomplishment that Montrucchio avoids sensationalism…The author is at her best when delivering sensuous prose.”
SEATTLE WEEKLY
“…Neither perverse nor seeking cheap thrills…but with self deprecating irony about a situation vaguely pediophile, this is a story of a love that can only be described as normal.”
LA STAMPA, MILAN
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