Lit in Translation

Trick

Scherzetto

Domenico Starnone (born 1943)

Translated by Jhumpa Lahiri

English editions

In English

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For seventy-two hours small Mario is entrusted to a grandfather he scarcely knows, a cantankerous illustrator long settled in Milan and busy with a commission, while his parents attend a conference or perhaps decide whether their marriage is over. Confined to the family flat in Naples, with a balcony as their only outlet, the exhausted old man and the bossy, untiring child square off, forming pacts and playing games that turn sour, as the city and the rooms around them stir with memories and phantoms.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form
Novel
Length
164 pages in the original
Genres
Family (assigned by AI)
Set in
Italy
First published
2016 by Einaudi
Author's age
73 when first published
ISBN

9788806232351 (original)

9781609454449 (Europa Editions, United States)

9781787705494 (Europa Editions, United Kingdom)