First published 2022
A young man from southern Italy arrives in Turin to work at the Fiat factory. The year is 1969, and tensions simmer on the production line as workers face brutal conditions and endless demands. When a massive strike erupts in autumn, he finds himself swept into a movement that will consume nearly a decade of his life. He attends clandestine meetings, marches through the streets, and stands at barricades as the revolt spreads beyond the factory walls. The strike becomes something larger than better wages or shorter hours. It becomes a fight against the very nature of work itself, a demand for dignity, for life beyond the machine. Through rallies and demonstrations, through moments of hope and crushing setbacks, he discovers his own political awakening. The movement transforms him from an isolated laborer into someone who believes change is possible. At its heart, this is a story about what happens when ordinary people decide they deserve everything.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, labor, activism
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: ordinary-people-change-the-world, political-awakening
Setting: Italy, Turin
Period: 1969
224 pages · Paperback · Verso Fiction