Domenico Starnone's thirteenth work of fiction is a powerful short novel about relationships, family, love, and the ineluctable consequences of one's actions.
Ties is the story of marriage. Like many marriages, this one has been subject to strain, to attrition, to the burden of routine. Yet it has survived intact.
Or so things appear. The rupture in Vanda and Aldo's marriage lies years in the past, but if one looks closely enough, the fissures and fault lines are evident. Their marriage is a cracked vase that may shatter at the slightest touch. Or perhaps it has already shattered, and nobody is willing to acknowledge the fact.
Winner of The Bridge Prize for Best Novel 2015
“The story glints and cuts like smashed crystal.” The Guardian
“A tight tale of domestic carnage.” Frances Wilson, The Times Literary Supplement
“Ties seizes you and doesn’t let go for 150 pages. The tone is cool and contained. Hysteria threatens, and is kept away—although only just.” The Times
"A complex and devastating dissection of a relationship, superbly teased apart and considered from all possible viewpoints." The Sunday Times
"Ingeniously constructed." Financial Times
"Distinguished by its distinctive characters and clarity of tone, Ties is a gem." BBC Culture
“[Starnone’s] leanest, most understated and emotionally powerful novel.” The New York Times Book Review
"Ties is puzzle-like, architectural, a novel ingeniously constructed." The New Yorker
"Neatly structured and tightly plotted….Ties packs a lot of baggage into a small container while also leaving the container ajar, like Pandora's box." Asymptote Journal
“A slim, stunning meditation on marriage, fidelity, honesty, and truth.” Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“Scalding and incisive.” Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Brief, brilliant and unnerving." Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field
"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 Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness
Domenico Starnone was born in Naples and lives in Rome. He is the author of thirteen works of fiction, including First Execution (Europa, 2009), Via Genito, winner of Italy's most prestigious literary prize, the Strega, and Ties (Europa, 2017), a New York Times Editors' Pick, and The Sunday Times' best novel in translation of 2017.
Domenico Starnone's thirteenth work of fiction is a powerful short novel about relationships, family, love, and the ineluctable consequences of one's actions. Ties is the story of marriage. Like many marriages, this one has been subject to strain, to attrition, to the burden of routine. Yet it has survived intact. Or so things appear. The rupture in Vanda and Aldo's marriage lies years in the past, but if one looks closely enough, the fissures and fault lines are evident. Their marriage is a cracked vase that may shatter at the slightest touch. Or perhaps it has already shattered, and nobody is willing to acknowledge the fact.
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