FICTION

FOLLOW YOUR HEART by Susanna Tamaro, translated from the Italian by John Cullen (Doubleday/Nan Talese: $24.95; 204 pp.) Originally published in Italy in 1994, this novel, the European “Bridges of Madison County,” sold over 800,000 copies in Italy before moving onto the European bestseller lists. Written as a letter from a grandmother to her granddaughter and dated Nov. 17 to Dec. 22, 1992, the book in fact has a tone almost identical to Robert James Waller’s. It’s a tone made poignant by generations of error and silence, a matter of fact confrontation with life’s compromises, with decisions made, best as possible, in the shadow of circumstance. “Unhappiness,” writes the old woman, alone in her big house, at once pillar of strength and object of rebellion in her family, “is generally transmitted through the female line, passing from mother to daughter . . . and instead of diminishing as it passes, it steadily grows more intense, more ineradicable and profound.” In this effort to reach out lovingly to her granddaughter, the writer tries to describe a way through the bitterness that characterized mother-daughter relationships in their family for so many decades, a way to make decisions clearly and not out of anger: “Breathe deeply, trustingly, the way you breathed on the day when you came in to the world . . . stay still, be quiet, and listen to your heart.” It’s a sweet read, but the trouble with poignance, as you well know, is that it so strongly resembles cotton candy.