FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER LONGLISTED AND WINNER OF THE STREGA PRIZE THE HOUSE ON VIA GEMITO

“Starnone uses languages the way a great painter works with colour, conjuring the illusion of three dimensions from a blank flat surface.”—Jhumpa Lahiri 

“Compelling… One of Italy’s most accomplished novelists.”—The Guardian 

"Trick is a chillingly weird chamber piece - a very tricksy treat.”—The Times 

Trick is a stylish drama about ambition, family, and old age that goes beyond the ordinary and predictable. Imagine a duel between two men. One, Daniele Mallarico, is a successful illustrator who, in the twilight of his years, feels that his reputation and his artistic prowess are fading. The other, Mario, is Daniele’s four-year-old grandson. Daniele has been living in a cold northern city for years, in virtual solitude, focusing obsessively on his work, when his daughter asks if he would come to Naples for a few days and babysit Mario while she and her husband attend a conference. Shut inside his childhood home―an apartment in the centre of Naples that is filled with the ghosts of Mallarico’s past―grandfather and grandson match wits as Daniele heads toward a reckoning with his own ambitions and life choices.

Outside the apartment, pulses Naples, a wily, violent, and passionate city whose influence can never be shaken. 

"One of Italy's most accomplished novelists spins a wonderful story about an elderly illustrator and his four-year-old grandson."

"Trick is a chillingly weird chamber piece - a very tricksy treat."

"Starnone packs a huge amount into a small compass."

"Starnone echoes James throughout, with ghoulish hallucinations, and piercing insights into identity and the shifting perceptions of ageing."

"Superb."

"A sharp observation of two unlikely rivals matching wits and a trenchant analysis of aging, family and art, this deliciously addictive novel is a treat to read."

“Astute and emotionally precise… this remarkably layered work encourages rereading to unearth new and subtle interpretations.”

Domenico Starnone was born in Naples and lives in Rome. He is the author of thirteen works of fiction, including First Execution(Europa, 2009), Ties (Europa, 2017) a Sunday Times Best Book of the Year, Trick (Europa, 2018), a Finalist for the 2018 National Book Award and the 2019 PEN Translation Prize, Trust (Europa, 2021), and The House on Via Gemito (Europa, 2023), winner of Italy’s most prestigious literary prize, the Strega. It was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024. Jhumpa Lahiri is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies. Her books include The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, The Lowland, and, most recently, In Other Words, an exploration of language and identity. She is the translator of Starnone’s Ties and Trust.