Summary

In the first section of the novel, "Signor Hoffman," Eduardo Halfon travels to Calabria from Rome. At the train station he meets up with a man named Fausto. Together they drive to a concentration camp, Ferramonti di Tarsia in a dangerous and rundown vehicle. On the way, Fausto points out various sights along the road, and tells Eduardo about one last unexploded bomb. Eduardo has trouble concentrating on the conversation. He is remembering a visit he made to Hiroshima with a Japanese girl, Aiko. Together they visited the ruins of an old school, where a blackboard was covered with white chalk markings. She explained that the chalkboard had become a community wall where survivors could write messages to their deceased relatives. Per Eduardo's request, Aiko read the messages aloud and told him about her grandfather who also survived the bomb.

When Fausto and...