The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi

​An Italian family saga full of hope, jealousy, fierce love and just as fierce abandonment as seen through the eyes of Marco Carrera.  Called the hummingbird due to his small stature and graceful agility as a child, Marco seems to take things in stride as he tries to find love, happiness and approval from his family and others.  After a series of tragedies beginning with the death of his sister, Marco tries to be there for everyone navigating the rough waters as husband, father, lover, professional doctor and son not as a trained sailor but more like a guy in a lifeboat with only one oar.  It is an introspective novel of a man's journey to get it right and to see his mission - to raise his granddaughter proclaimed to be the "man of the future" even though she happens to be a woman.  The audio sounds beautiful (there is nothing like hearing Italian names and places in my mind) but I admit to becoming a bit lost in the back and forth of years and the minute details that I didn't find relevant.  I am chalking it up to a translation issue and audio versus reading the book and that didn't take away my enjoyment of the beautiful writing.  3 1/2 stars