Das grosse A

Lombardy during World War II: People seek refuge from constant bombings, German occupiers hunt partisans, and food is rationed. Thirteen-year-old Giada lives with her aunt, a devout fascist, and violence and deprivation shape everyday life. So Giada dreams of escape, dreaming of the "Great A": Africa, where her mother Adele is said to lead an adventurous, independent life in the Italian colonies.

And indeed: After the war, her mother brings her to Eritrea. However, the high expectations are disappointed: the constant heat and the work in Adele's bar on the edge of the desert are anything but fairy-tale-like. The flamboyant mother stifles every desire for freedom until Giada meets the charming but enigmatic Giacomo.

With stubborn poetry, Giulia Caminito tells of a little-known moment in Italy's history: Eritrea is on the path to independence, and the remaining colonists without a colony struggle for influence and a future under the new power dynamics.