The letter carrier A novel

Anna steps off a bus in 1934 in the close-knit southern Italian town where her husband grew up, already missing everything she left behind in her home in the north, and immediately turns heads. Over the course of nearly three decades, she and her family experience love, loss, secrets, and very unfortunate timing. After taking a job as the local letter carrier, highly unusual for a woman, Anna uses her position to bring lovers together, comfort families during the war, and restore confidence and dignity to a lonely woman by teaching her to read. As a wife, mother, sister-in-law, and aunt--and despite the whispers of those neighbors who will never see her as anything other than an "outlander"--she refuses to be anything less than her authentic self. Inspired by Giannone's great-grandmother, this character-driven story uses multiple perspectives to explore gender roles, missed opportunities, and the importance of family connection. This melancholy book in translation was originally published in Italy and will likely spark discussion about how we live with the consequences of choices we make.