Sleepless Nights and Kisses for Breakfast: Reflections on Fatherhood

Sleepless Nights and Kisses for Breakfast is a poignant and humorous collection of anecdotes about fatherhood, marriage, and everyday life. Matteo Bussola is a cartoonist living in Verona, Italy with his wife, Paola, and their three daughters: Virginia (age eight), Ginevra (age four), and Melania (age two). In recent years, Bussola has taken to Facebook, writing absorbing snapshots about his family, his work-from-home job, his interactions with strangers, and other ordinary moments. These endearing and uplifting episodes became the inspiration for the chapters in his delightful book.

Bussola’s reflective and sometimes excessively sweet stories are perfectly bite-sized, making his book ideal for readers searching for something to read in the spare moments of their day. Though lacking illustrations, Bussola’s experience as a cartoonist is apparent in the way he tells his short, insightful, and amusing stories. His book seems to challenge readers to appreciate the quiet, routine moments of life. Bussola’s writing is articulate; however, at times it feels as though some of his meaning is lost in translation. Nevertheless, there is something here for every reader, particularly for those who have young children in their lives.