Eugenia is not a typical American teenager. For one thing, she's Italian. Her bohemian parents decided to move from Rome to Los Angeles to make movies, and as it's the early 1990s, they make this decision while watching the L.A. riots on television.
After the family moves to California and Eugenia is introduced to her American high school, things sadly do not get better. She is dropped into a dark and dangerous city, in a dark and dangerous school. There are metal detectors at the doors, actual gangs in the hallways, and Eloise is completely alone and still struggling with the language.
As the weeks go by, Eugenia manages to learn her way around the school, makes her way around her neighborhood, and figures out how to cover her emotions in a rubber suit to survive in the world she finds herself in. And she does get a better grasp on her English, forge some tenuous friendships, and discovers a true passion for literature, making it her goal to get to that advanced literature class before she graduates. And that's just the beginning of Eugenia's story.
Things That Happened Before the Earthquake is a beautifully written coming-of-age story, but it is a harsh one to read. There are some very difficult sex scenes, and the way Eugenia handles it, how she handles all the things that happen to her, can be very difficult to process. But it is a brutally honest look at growing up in a strange land, at finding a path in life despite an unsupportive family, and at surviving in a brutal wasteland.
While Eugenia and her family and schoolmates are a fascinating collection of characters, the sense of place works as more than a supporting character in this novel. Occasionally taking over the stage is Los Angeles and its inhabitants, from Rodney King to O.J. Simpson, from riots to earthquakes to gangs, and with the constant reminder of Hollywood and all of her charms. Italy also plays a strong role, and even on a short family trip to South Dakota, the place becomes visceral with the sights and scents that surround Eugenia.
Novelist and screenwriter Chiara Barzini has created a sensual masterpiece of character and place. Her dedication to the moments of Eugenia's life, the specificity of each scene, the powerful emotions that envelop you as you read makes me wonder just how fictional some of this story is. But real or imagined, the strength of her writing is real. It is brutal, it is honest, and it is real. This is a book that will stick with you long after all the pages have been turned.
Galleys for Things That Happened Before the Earthquake were provided by Doubleday Books through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.