The Wager by Donna Jo NapoliMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Based on an old Sicilian fairytale:
A wealthy young man loses everything in a tsunami that washes over the medieval Sicilian town of Messina, destroying his property and taking every chance he had of paying off his debts. Evicted, scorned, and despised, he struggles to survive in a world that has no interest in helping a foolish nobleman, especially while everyone else is hurting just as bad. He works menial jobs enough to get along for awhile, but when those jobs disappear he needs more help.
The devil offers him a wager--a limitless purse is his, and he can keep his soul even, if he can go three years, three months, and three days without changing clothes or bathing. He accepts. Of course, the devil doesn't play fair, and he is soon filthy and stinking with a long time to go on the wager.
At first he can find places to lodge, paying outrageous fees, but after a time he can't even do that. He's kicked out of every place, reviled because of his stench and disgusting appearance.
The rest of the story deals with the various ways he goes about surviving, trying to win the bet. The middle gets pretty slow, tbh. And then the end, when you want to see how everything is resolved, gets tied up all at once, which I didn't love. Spoiler--(view spoiler) I kinda wanted to see more of the devil, too, but we only get a glimpse here and there. Oh well.
An interesting premise with some good characters and a good ending, I'd say it is better now in retrospect than how I was feeling about it in the middle. I'm glad I finished, I mean. So--cautiously recommended.
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