Children's & YA
Us
by Michele Cocchi
Description
Tommaso is 16 years old, and hasn’t left the house for 18 months – in fact, he barely leaves his room. He is what psychologists refer to as hikikomori: literally “pulling inward, being confined”. One day, he suddenly abandoned basketball, school, and all his hobbies, and now spends his time watching old NBA matches and playing video games.
There is one game in particular which determines the structure of his days, and has become his only means of socialisation. The game is called Us: a multiplayer game where teams of three players carry out 100 challenges per year, one each day. The team that completes the challenge first, while staying united as a group, wins. Tommaso’s avatar, whose head is a skull, is called Logan. His other team members are Rin: a girl who resembles a Japanese manga character, and Hud: a character straight out of a shooter game. These three do not know each other – according to the rules of the game, they are not allowed to discuss their private lives – but they soon become friends.
Every day, Us provides them with a “historical” mission. They will fight either for the victims or for the perpetrators – for example, as part of the Colombian FARC, with the German Nazis, or in support of Mandela in South Africa. Every day, they must work out how to reach the end of the mission while surrounded by the horrors of the twentieth century. Every day, they will have someone to save and someone to kill. They will soon discover that history can be brutal, and that it’s not always possible to be the hero.
More Information
Rights Information
Film rights optioned by Maremosso and Isaia Production.
Please contact michele.turazzi@pastrengolit.com
Marketing Information
Us by Michele Cocchi is a novel aimed at younger readers – but not exclusively. Within the book, the history of the 1900s becomes a reality, forcing us to take sides; it is a challenge in which the final mission is to understand how to be human.
Reviews
“Cocchi guides his characters through reality with confidence, echoing the words of the “Grande Saggio”, the game’s mentor: “Brotherhood is vital – only by supporting each other can you reach the end”. An end which, it would appear, marks the beginning of a great friendship.”
“La Lettura” – “il Corriere della Sera” / Alessandro Beretta
“Michele Cocchi’s novel […] grows to become an enchanting read, as the author allows us to enter into the protagonist’s fears and desires. Little by little, we realise that the distinction between real and virtual is not as clear as we may expect, and that the ethical choices made within the virtual world can also define what we consider to be reality.”
“Alias” – “il Manifesto” / Francesco Mazzetta
“By regaining control of their bodies, the characters are finally free to choose; and by passing through one of the most difficult and most complex worlds – the real world – they choose open-mindedness, diversity, and humanity in the face of fear and of fascism.”
“Carmilla” / Paolo Lago
Author Biography
Michele Cocchi (1979) was born in Pistoia, where he lives and works as a child and adolescent psychotherapist. His stories have been published in a number of magazines (“Graphie”, “il primo amore”, “Nazione Indiana”) and anthologies. He published a collection of short stories entitled Tutto sarebbe tornato a posto (Elliot Edizioni, 2010), and was listed as a finalist for Fahrenheit’s Book of the Year. His first novel is La cosa giusta (Effigi, 2016). He won the Premio Comisso in 2018 with his novel La casa dei bambini (Fandango, 2017).
Copyright Information
Please contact michele.turazzi@pastrengolit.com
Pastrengo Agenzia Letteraria
Pastrengo is a Milan-based literary agency founded on September 2016 by Francesco Sparacino and Michele Turazzi. Pastrengo represents Italian authors of fiction (commercial and literary, young adult) and non fiction.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Fandango
- Publication Date May 2020
- Orginal LanguageItalian
- ISBN/Identifier 8860446627
- Publication Country or regionItaly
- FormatPaperback
- Primary Price 17 EUR
- Pages320
- ReadershipTeenage/Young Adult
- Publish StatusPublished
- Copyright Year2020
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