Book of Homes
From prizewinning Italian author Andrea Bajani: the secrets of a man and his country as seen through the eyes of the homes that have guarded them.
A finalist for Italy’s prestigious Strega Prize, The Book of Homes is a remarkable achievement: a sprawling story that unfolds across much of Italy and yet that is told within the confines of the homes of its characters—and often from the point of view of the homes themselves: the many homes that shaped our main character named “I,” though the novel is in third-person; the home of I’s childhood companion, a turtle in her shell; the final homes of two figures whose murders shattered a country: a kidnapped, murdered politician; a poet dead in the street, run over by his own car. . . Both chilling and touching, The Book of Homes is an ambitious coming-of-age story unlike any other. One that jumps from home to home, upstairs to downstairs, decade to decade, and slowly reveals the blueprints—the puzzle pieces—to a life’s story.
Extraordinary, emotionally resonant, and utterly unique, The Book of Homes affirms Andrea Bajani’s status as a major force in contemporary international literature, and dares readers to consider what they’d be willing to give up in order to keep themselves.
Andrea Bajani was born in Rome in 1975. He is the author of many award-winning novels, including, in English translation, If You Kept A Record of Sins (Archipelago, 2021) and Every Promise (Maclehose Press, 2013). He is currently a writer in residence at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
Elizabeth Harris is a literary translator specializing in contemporary Italian fiction. She is the author of multiple award-winning full-length translations include works by Giulio Mozzi (Open Letter Books), Antonio Tabucchi (Archipelago Books) and Mario Rigoni Stern (Autumn Hill Books).