June 24, 2013
A desperate search for human connection is at the heart of this moving novel from Carofiglio (The Past Is a Foreign Country). Roberto Marias, who infiltrated major drug cartels during his time as an undercover Italian cop, is on leave after coming close to blowing his own head off. His calendar has only two fixed points, his twice-a-week therapy appointments. Roberto, who drifts through life in a haze with minimal interactions with others, sometimes finds that “remembering and thinking are not beneficial activities” for him. A chance encounter with Emma, an attractive woman he recognizes from a TV condom commercial, may offer a chance of relief from his malaise. Some chapters related from the perspective of someone named Giacomo, who’s entranced by a classmate named Ginevra, add suspense, as the relationship of this subplot to the main one doesn’t become clear until the end. The author subtly and simply conveys the backstory to Roberto’s suicidal ideation.
Starred review from October 15, 2013
This superb book from the "Italian John Grisham" (A Walk in the Dark; Reasonable Doubts; Temporary Perfections) is almost not a mystery thriller at all, though there is a genuine, but small, mystery solved in it. Rather, it's a novel of character, rich in compassion for its flawed, deeply troubled protagonists. One is a former undercover narc who can no longer come to terms with the lies he has lived. The other is a young mother who blames herself for the death of her child's father. The detective and the woman meet outside the office building of the psychiatrist they both see. Over the course of this sweet work, they reach an accommodation of sorts with their own failings. VERDICT This is a superior title, warm and human, that should appeal widely.
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