The balloon, Mount Tambura and the Flying Carpet
Fernanda Raineri
Author Bio
Fernanda Raineri , was born in Versilia , Massa Carrara .. Even as a child he had a passion for drawing and poetry . Passions that he missed during youth , but I felt the need to return to cultivate , in recent years, notably since 2003 .
Literary works : many of his poems and short stories have been awarded in national and international competitions and included in anthologies of various publishing houses . His poetry anthology of 60 poems , was published in January 2012 , by the publishing house Editions Crane of Padua , with the title Crock of stars . In March 2013 were published in ebook format , the publishing house La Case Books of Los Angeles , two books of fiction entitled ” The balloon , Mount Tambura and the flying carpet ” and ” The Blue Book ” .
In April 2013 was published his anthology of short stories entitled ” Miracle at Fortaleza ” by the publisher Digital Index of Modena . In 2015 she self-published books ” The balloon , Mount Tambura and the flying carpet ” and ” The Blue Book “.
Description
The Balloon, Mount Tambura and the Flying Carpet
A wonderful adventure on the Apuan Apls
This novel by Fernanda Raineri is first of all a compelling adventure tale. It’s warm, fascinating, with a something classic that is hard to find in modern literature. Few works so direct, so sincere are published nowadays. It is this kind of cleanliness, of directness that dominates this book that, page after page, becomes more and more involving.
The story is set in the Versilia, in Tuscany, amidst the beautiful natural landscapes of the Apuan Alps, exactly near Mount Tambura. There Stella and her sister Glenda, with their American friends Rebecca and Frank, get involved in a series of incredible – nearly supernatural – adventures.
Everything starts with a flight on a hot air balloon organised by the gang despite their parents’ perplexity. It seems nothing more than an interesting experience, maybe a once-in-a-lifetime adventure but something very safe anyway, but everything soon descends into chaos: due to high winds, the Turkish pilot Alfred loses control of the balloon, called Nautilus, and is forced to crash-land it in the woods. The four friends lose consciousness. As soon as they come back to their senses, they realise that they are unhurt, but there’s no trace of Alfred.
Stella and her mates start looking for a path out of the woods. Their attention is, however, captured by a young fox that, frightened, hides in a hole in the rocks. Curious, the friends follow it to a huge underground cave. There, they find at first some ancient coins, then a real treasure and some human remains from the years of the Second World War. Amongst many things, they see an Oriental-looking carpet and a piece of parchment with some mysterious words on it.
And this is just the start of an adventure that will see them go deep inside the earth, through extraordinary, mysterious places, where they will meet their incredible inhabitants. What they can’t imagine is that they’ll find in Alfred an unexpected antagonists, and that they’ll fly again thanks to that mysterious carpet…
An adventure at the end of which, sticking to all the topoi of the genre literature, the protagonists are the only depositaries of an old secret. Alco Stella, an aspiring writer, has something to write about…
The strength of this story is, however, not only on the fascinating adventures, but also in the souls of the four characters, who come to life through the pages, involving the reader in their choices, their fears, their individual ways of managing the most unbelievable situations basing all their choices on the most magical and supernatural value: friendship.
The crystal clarity of Ms. Raineri’s writing is a sharp weapon that, along with the rhythm of the story, creates the perfect reading experience for the younger readers involving at the same time those adults who haven’t lost their ability to be surprised.
An echo of the unforgettable Jules Verne’s novels is not only in the name of the balloon, but also in the friends’ underground adventure: it is a Journey to the Centre of the Earth full of interesting discoveries and findings, but with more modern resolutions and in a more contemporary language.
Book excerpt
They jumped on their scooters. Their parents waved at them with an expression that seemed to be suggesting that they were thinking Where the Hell are you going? You really need to do this?
Rebecca and Frank were waiting for them next to their motorbike. They were perfectly on time.
As soon as she saw them coming, the girl started waving her arms and jumping all over.
She looks like a cheerleader, Glenda thought.
Frank didn’t move, but smiled. The sunlight was reflected by the retainer on his teeth; his eyes seemed to shine, too. It always happened, every time he saw Stella. His jokes, his cocky walk couldn’t hide the fact that he had always been attracted by her.
“What do you have in that bag, a parachute?” said Frank.
“No, an airbag, just in case we crash”, replied Glenda.
“What about you, Rebecca?” Stella wanted to know if bringing a windproof jacket had been overkill.
“I brought a cotton sweater and Frank… you know… one of those jackets with lots of pockets, for your mobile, your specs, your lighter…”
“Pretty much like wearing a bag then!” said the girl.
“What do you think, shall we go?” asked Frank. His gaze met Stella’s. He hoped that his feelings would reach her without any need for words: talking about them would have been embarrassing. He hated himself for not being able to come forward, but he was too afraid to spoil what they already had.
Stella held his gaze, then looked at the sky saying: “Let’s go, I don’t want to be late”.
Frank thought he had seen her blush just a little. He hoped it was true. “You’re right, let’s go”.
His tone sounded stronger than ever. Maybe it was the emotion of the moment he had just shared with Stella.
What a traffic jam! Is everyone on holidays in the Versilia? Stella thought. She couldn’t wait to get where they were going.
Finally they reached the gathering place.
“Wonderful! There must be at least fifty balloons!” said Glenda.
She immediately took a picture; it was a feast of colours in the middle of nature. They looked for their balloon which, since it could take five people, had to be one of the biggest. They had been told that the balloon was painted with red, green, yellow and white stripes on it. On the side, they’d immediately notice its name: Nautilus.
“Weird”, Rebecca said. “That name would be more appropriate for a submarine, don’t you think?”
“Oh shut up!” Stella replied. “Nautilus is also a shell”.
“I didn’t know. This explains everything then”, said Glenda.
“Found it! Man, it’s awesome!”
Stella was delighted. And the pilot was not bad looking either: young and handsome, he looked around twenty.
“Good morning everybody, ready to go?” the tall young man asked, in the local accent.
“Of course!” replied Stella with a smile that showed her big teeth. Rebecca and Glenda began to whisper to each other, exchanging opinions about the guy’s tan – too perfect –and his age. They thought that someone so young couldn’t have the experience needed to fly a balloon.
“Come on girls, if he’s here he must be good, whatever his age”, said Stella, trying to reassure her friends.
Frank seemed to agree: “What matters is that they have a lot of flying hours and experience: age doesn’t matter.”
“Right, my name is Alfredo, call me Alfred”, the pilot said. They shook his hand, finding it slightly sweaty.
“Now, get in the basket one at a time, I’ll help from the ground. You didn’t bring any heavy luggage, right?”
“Of course not!” they all replied.
“Right. Get in, quick”.
Alfred helped them all in. The friends looked at each other, smiling and a little excited. Frank cleared his throat and asked when they were going to take of.
“At 9 sharp, like the other balloons. We’ll raise silently in this wonderful blue sky”, answered Alfred. They checked their watches, without realising that there was one hanging from one of the ropes of the balloon. It was 8:55.
“Feel how fast my heart is beating”, said Stella said, showing her wrist to Glenda and her friend.
“It’s fear!” commented Frank with a smile.
“Hell no! I’m not afraid. I’m just very excited”.
“Yeah, right, excited”, said Rebecca.
The time came. One staff member cut the rope of the balloon. Alfred pulled a handle that made the blue flame more powerful. The four friends were clenching the ropes.
Author Website
http://fernandaraineri.weebly.com/
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