Tartufo — Kira Jane Buxton

Thurber Prize finalist and author of the beloved Hollow Kingdom returns with another fantastical and endlessly funny story featuring a cast of colorful characters in a dying Italian village and a giant truffle that changes their fate forever.   After nearly losing the election to a geriatric but wildly popular donkey named Maurizio, newly installed Mayor Delizia Miccuci can't help but feel like the sun has finally set on the rural Italian village of Lazzarini Boscarino. Tourists only stop by to ask for directions, Nonna Amara's cherished ristorante is long shuttered, and the town hall is disgustingly overrun with glis glis poo -- even Postman Duccio has been disgraced. All that's left is Bar Celebrità, a rustic establishment where weary locals gather to quibble over decades-long disputes, submit their poor stomachs to bartender Giuseppina's volcanic espresso, and wonder what will become of the place where together they've spent their entire lives.
 
Little do the villagers know that, mere miles away in the forest, local truffle hunter Giovanni Scarpazza has just happened upon something that could change everything. Swollen to massive proportions, soaking the atmosphere in its pungent fumes, potentially worth six figures in certain international circles, a truffle -- un tartufo, that is -- sits beneath the soil with the power to either be the greatest gift or the foulest curse the village has ever seen -- they're not completely sure which since Giuseppina's psychic was a bit unclear on the matter.
 
Tartufo is much more than a charming romp through the foothills of Tuscany. Written in the same enchanting style and raucous humor that defines Hollow Kingdom and Feral Creatures, Buxton's newest story is a reflection on the interconnectedness of life in all its manifestations -- and how holding on to harmony in the face of hardship can grow something beautiful and rare beneath the surface.