Made in Italy: Ancora una volta con te by Dustin Thao

Originally published under the English title You’ve Reached Sam, Dustin Thao’s YA debut tells the story of Julie, a recent high-school graduate who just lost her boyfriend Sam. In her grief, Julie calls Sam’s phone, just to hear his voicemail one last time, but then a miracle happens. Sam picks up. The book’s title pays homage to this central theme of the story, phone calls and reaching through grief. But what happens when an important phrase such as “you’ve reached [name]” can’t be translated?

Phone calls aren’t often the first thing you think of when you imagine cultural differences, but the ways in which languages adapt around technology aren’t always the same, despite globalization and the rise of English loanwords. In Italy, when you pick up the phone you say “pronto.” If someone’s asking who they’re speaking to, or when recording a voicemail, the way to introduce yourself is “sono [name].” But “I am Sam” doesn’t hold the same double-meaning as “You’ve reached sam”, and “pronto” just isn’t the right title for a YA book centered around grief.

Even in Italy, they have the ugly book stickers

Ancora una volta con te is another example of problem-solving in literary translation. “Ancora” translates many ways, the most common one being “still.” It’s often used to denote meanings such as “even now,” “again,” and “once again.” “One more time with you” is the best way I can think of translating it back into English. I think it does an amazing job catching a reader’s attention and conveying the themes of the book despite the concept of a phone call not being involved.

This edition is translated by Antonia Scipione and was published by Newton Compton Editori in April 2022, just five months after its initial US release in November 2021. Scipione has translated a variety of romance books, such as Un amico da sposare and L’maore tra di noi. New Compton Editori is an Italian publishing company most known for publishing classics, poetry, and essays. Ancora una volta con te is currently their most popular selling book.

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