The Book of Homes

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.