51 pages • 1 hour read
Rachel KushnerA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
In 1942, Valera’s company expands into rubber production. A year into World War II, Valera is in Brazil supervising the harvest, smoking, and transport of rubber. The Amazon is an unfamiliar place to him; the trees take longer to grow than trees in Asia, and the overseer is especially abusive towards the Indigenous people who work with the rubber. His former friend Lonzi is fighting in the war in Abyssinia, and Valera’s motorcycle is entering production for street riding. Valera’s motorcycle business is being used by Mussolini for the war effort, so Valera hopes the new rubber endeavor will make him significantly more money.
Valera is now 57 years old and has a wife, Alba, and two sons: Roberto and Sandro. He sets up a factory for his rubber in Switzerland to avoid Mussolini’s socialist takeover of Italian industries. Before long, Mussolini is killed and hanged in public.
By Rachel Kushner
American Literature
View Collection
Art
View Collection
Books About Art
View Collection
Coming-of-Age Journeys
View Collection
European History
View Collection
Italian Studies
View Collection
National Book Awards Winners & Finalists
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection