Renato's Luck by Jeff Shapiro: book review

Renato’s Luck (2001) is set in Italy in the early 1990’s. Renato Tizzoni of Tuscany, prompted by a dream, is on a mission to the Vatican to save his marriage and his village.

Renato’s job in the Public Works Department, as a plumber, is to ensure that the townsfolk have water. The Government plans to build a dam near his village. If this happens his village will disappear under water and the whole village will be forced to relocate to a new area. All the past history of the town will be lost forever.

He has never been a fortunate man. His parents died before his eighteenth birthday, his fifteen year old daughter is pregnant out of wedlock, his marriage is taking a turn for the worse due to his sexual dysfunction, and his father figure Aristodemo has just died.

Renato has a dream that he sees the hand of the Pope and subsequently finds a fortune. His interpretation of the dream is that he should visit the Vatican to see the Pope. People in the town hear of his upcoming travel intentions. Given that not many people leave the town for holidays, his trip becomes a public affair. They view the trip as “something brave and frightening and thrilling.” Believing that the dream is Renato’s luck, the villagers all want their luck to change too, and for their village not to be relocated. Thus Renato gathers the names of sad and misfortunate people of his village on paper to take with him when he sees the Pope. Blessed by the local priest, his departure is a momentous occasion.

He arrives at the Vatican in Rome and attends the Pope’s mass at the St. Peter’s Basilica. There “everybody’s asking for something.” He realizes that he has a few seconds to ask the Pope for a miracle during the papal blessing. When Renato finally sees the Pope standing before him, what does he ask for? Does he ask for something for himself, his loved ones, or his village? He is under pressure for he has the power to change someone’s life or the lives of all the villages. But does he have the power to change the Government’s decision to build a dam? Governments come and Governments go, and they accomplish very little. Life goes on.

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