Awards

• Winner of The Bridge Prize for Best Novel 2015

Overview

They were young and in love and they sought freedom from their families. They married, but as middle-age and family obligations set in and the world changed around them, their marital vows seemed to lose their meaning. When he left, she felt gripped by impotent rage; she burned with questions that had no answers. She stayed with the kids in Naples, a city from which she felt a growing estrangement. He transferred from Naples to Rome and moved in with a younger woman. But the inescapable ties that bind us can be tenacious, stronger than both the wounds inflicted by abandonment and the desire for freedom. The smallest gesture can render those ties painfully evident. His return is made possible by a mutual and tacit agreement- for the sake of the kids, and for their own sake, they will carry on as if nothing has come between them. But can betrayal ever be swept under the carpet? is it possible to retrace one's steps and regain what was lost? If so, at what price? Possessing the keen perceptiveness of John Updike, Domenico Starnone gives his readers a powerful short novel about marriage, family, and the consequences of one's actions upon both.

Full Product Details

9781609453855

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Reviews

Praise for Ties A superlative novel, Ties offers an x-ray image both of love that is love in name only and of destruction, specifically a home torn apart by something that at first seems to be a tornado but turns out to be Starnone's brilliant writing. Il Giornale Ties is a masterfully crafted synthesis of Starnone's storytelling technique and prose style. Christian Raimo, Internazionale Ties is not simply a novel about a couple in crisis, but a work of literature where staged scenes featuring one's unrealized self are propped up by the indestructible scaffolding of marriage. Daniela Brogi, Le Parole e le Cose

Praise for <b><i>Ties </b> [<i>Ties</i>] is as vivid and devastating as anything you will read this year. A slim, stunning meditation on marriage, fidelity, honesty, and truth. <i>--Kirkus Reviews </i>(Starred Review)<b><i> </b> Scalding and incisive. --<i>Library Journal</i> (Starred Review) An expertly crafted short novel that is charmingly intimate, disarmingly chatty and laced with some walloping surprises. --<i>Shelf Awareness</i> Brief, brilliant and unnerving. <i>--</i>Margot Livesey, author of <i>Mercury A cleverly crafted psychological thriller, this slim, intimate novel deftly undoes contemporary gender constructions as well as timeless notions of truth, fidelity, and sacrifice. --Jennifer Tseng, author of <i>Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness</i> A superlative novel, <i>Ties</i> offers an x-ray image both of love that is love in name only and of destruction, specifically a home torn apart by something that at first seems to be a tornado but turns out to be Starnone's brilliant writing. --<i>Il Giornale <i>Ties</i> is a masterfully crafted synthesis of Starnone's storytelling technique and prose style. --Christian Raimo, <i>Internazionale <i>Ties</i> is not simply a novel about a couple in crisis, but a work of literature where staged scenes featuring one's unrealized self are propped up by the indestructible scaffolding of marriage. --Daniela Brogi, <i>Le Parole e le Cose </i>

Praise for <b><i>Ties </b> [<i>Ties</i>] is as vivid and devastating as anything you will read this year. A slim, stunning meditation on marriage, fidelity, honesty, and truth. <i>--Kirkus Reviews </i>(Starred Review)<b><i> </b> Scalding and incisive. --<i>Library Journal</i> (Starred Review) An expertly crafted short novel. --<i>Shelf Awareness</i> Brief, brilliant and unnerving. <i>--</i>Margot Livesey, author of <i>Mercury A cleverly crafted psychological thriller, this slim, intimate novel deftly undoes contemporary gender constructions as well as timeless notions of truth, fidelity, and sacrifice. --Jennifer Tseng, author of <i>Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness</i> A superlative novel, <i>Ties</i> offers an x-ray image both of love that is love in name only and of destruction, specifically a home torn apart by something that at first seems to be a tornado but turns out to be Starnone's brilliant writing. --<i>Il Giornale <i>Ties</i> is a masterfully crafted synthesis of Starnone's storytelling technique and prose style. --Christian Raimo, <i>Internazionale <i>Ties</i> is not simply a novel about a couple in crisis, but a work of literature where staged scenes featuring one's unrealized self are propped up by the indestructible scaffolding of marriage. --Daniela Brogi, <i>Le Parole e le Cose </i>

Author Information

Domenico Starnoneais an Italian writer, screenwriter and journalist. He was born in Naples and lives in Rome. He is the author of eight novels, including First Execution (Europa, 2009), Via Femito, winner of Italy's most prestigious literary prize, the Strega, and numerous books of non-fiction.

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