SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND KISSES FOR BREAKFAST

An Italian father reflects on raising three daughters.

In this short, succinct, and sweet collection of essays, which became a bestseller in Italy, Bussola writes about being a work-at-home father of three young girls. He shares the funny, sad, angry, bittersweet, loving jumble of thoughts and feelings that make up being a parent who is trying as hard as he can to do the right thing, say the right thing, and be the right thing at the right moment so his girls grow into intelligent, compassionate women like their mother. “This book is a journal of sorts,” writes the author. “It’s about how being a father has made me a better man, a more confident artist, and a more attentive partner….The view [the girls] provide gives me a different way of looking at everything, even at what I was before they came along.” Bussola is used to the middle-of-the-night sicknesses, the fears of attending school for the first time, and the quirky, wonder-filled, often hilarious questions only children can ask from their different perspectives. Throughout the collection, readers will feel the author’s palpable love and empathy for his children along with the dogged tiredness that pervades a parent’s life and the constant questioning and self-doubt of whether one is doing everything possible to make sure the day flows smoothly from one moment to the next. Along with his thoughts on life as a father, Bussola shares comments on the world, whether it’s the prejudice he sees around him, the irritation he feels toward a telemarketer, or the suspicions he houses toward a stranger who appears at his gate who wants nothing more than a bottle of water. These commentaries help balance the essays, which could tend toward the overly cute if they focused only on his children.

Charming, “near-daily snapshots” of fatherhood.