The Beach at Night

Oddly enough, after deciding to read My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, I happened to read an NYT article about her newly translated book, The Beach At Night, which happens to be a picture book. It is the story of a lost doll’s frightening night at the beach, and according to the author of the article, it may not be a book that you would choose to read to young children. Apparently the translator, Ann Goldstein, uses some strong words in English that appear more innocuous in Italian, as “cacca” becomes a much cruder word, and a disturbing memory involving young Italian boys later surfaces in the story. The doll spends a horrible night on the beach, where she is thrown into a pile of burning trash by a nasty beach attendant. But a happy ending is in the cards; at any rate, I for one am curious to read this book to form my own opinion as to whether this assessment is valid. Its description in Amazon is much more mild…