In a small flat in Florence, Nadia Cara is losing words, time and, quite possibly, her mind.
Beth Kephart's (Going Over) latest novel takes readers to the heart of Florence and mental illness. Amid cobblestone walkways, massive cathedrals and countless shops, a young American woman fears for her sanity. Nadia has come to Florence with her parents and younger brother, Jack, during her father's sabbatical while he researches the 1966 flood that nearly destroyed the city. As Jack immerses himself in the world of Italian cooking, Nadia finds herself losing bits of time and finding other things. Nadia secretly becomes an increasingly compulsive thief, stealing bits and pieces from shops and pockets that she later will transform into otherworldly, beautiful nests. Nadia's family notices her unexplained injuries and odd behavior--disappearing to whereabouts unknown, her speech becoming reluctant and halted. Even more troubling is Nadia's insistence that she has met an Italian boy with impossibly bright hair and a duffle bag always full of flowers. Nadia realizes something is wrong with her, but she knows Benedetto is real, even if no one else has seen him. Only with the appearance of an old college friend of her father, retired neurologist Katherine, does an explanation for Nadia's behavior seem possible.
Nadia's gut-wrenching descent into her unexplained illness is explored through carefully crafted narrative and the later, cautious observations of those who love her. Kephart's novel succeeds on many levels. One Thing Stolen takes the bold approach of keeping the majority of the story, all of Nadia's descent, solely in Nadia's perspective. Readers cannot easily determine if she is a reliable narrator, or if parts of her story may be delusions. Benedetto's appearances and disappearances add an element of mystery and the bittersweet potential of young love. Nadia is a fascinating character, aware of her own troubles but unable to explain or even express many of her own symptoms, asking readers, "What is the name of this disease, the name for the girl who builds nests with stolen things, who sees what others do not see, who can barely, hardly speak?" Avoiding the clichés and melodrama that can plague books dealing with mental illness, Kephart applies a deft hand and instead looks inward and asks readers to come along with Nadia and experience the danger and beauty of her world. --Kyla Paterno
Shelf Talker: A young American in Italy fears for her sanity as words become harder to express.