Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto by Gianni Rodari

Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto A Modern Fable By Gianni Rodari

Baron Lamberto is ninety three years old and lives on the island of San Giulio in the middle of Lake Orta in the mountains of Northern Italy.  Lamberto is very rich as he owns 24 banks around the world and on each continent and he is also very sick, having 24 ailments, one for each bank that he owns.  Only his butler, Anselmo, remembers them all.

Baron Lamberto is told by an Egyptian mystic that the secret to youthfulness is to have your name repeated over and over so he hires six people to chant his name twenty four hours a day.  "Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto,...." Surprisingly, this works and Lamberto's health begins to improve and soon becomes the epitome of youth.

But his life is at risk because not only does his only heir, his nephew Ottavio, want him to die but then a group of terrorists shows up at his castle to demand a ransom from each of his 24 banks.  Soon the 24 bank managers arrive and negotiations begin.

Lamberto Lamberto Lamberto was originally written in 1980 by Rodari and has been translated to English in 2011 by Anthony Shugaar.  The original story is a great Italian Fable and Gianni Rodari (1920-1980) is a great Italian author and journalist most famous for his books for children.  He won the Hans Christian Andersen award in 1970.

I am extremely happy to have found this book in the new book section of my local library and to have read it and I highly recommend it to adults and children alike.  It is filled with shenanigans, amusing characters, and is highly unpredictable.... I think you'll love it!