Macaco’s life pivots around the repetitive motions of his hard work and the extenuating physical effort it requires, his friendship with Banana and Tomb (all nicknames) in what feels like one of the most remote corners of Italy, and the one bar, one restaurant, and one gym in the village. Macaco lives a life that many would probably consider extremely small, limiting, and unsatisfying. Yet, his outlook on life is incredibly deep, penetrating, and all-encompassing. 

The plot emerges slowly from short chapters that almost have an anecdotal feel to them: together with Tomb, Macaco helps Banana overcome his alcoholism, which has been destroying his marriage and his life. Then Macaco starts learning sign language to better communicate with Tomb, who was born deaf. And finally, Macaco himself faces the choice between two possible love interests. The sum of these episodes is an unforgettable portrayal of a character with many questions and few answers, yet who has reached an enviable outlook on life.

One way to describe Macaco would be to reach for the trope of the ‘peasant philosopher’. However, he is not an enlightened, entirely at peace, guru-like character, nor has he reached a superior understanding of the human condition. On the contrary, he often feels lonely, shy, and out of place.

Though this novel might very well be called a ‘farming epic’, it certainly is not an idyll outside of time as Macaco battles larger, more modern social issues, such as Banana’s alcoholism, the prejudice that affects Tomb’s life because of his disability, his own loneliness after the end of a relationship, and the use of pesticides that poison the land he loves so much.