Synopses & Reviews
On the shores of the Mediterranean, exhausted from an afternoon of surfing,Pietro Paladini is shaken out of his stupor by a distant noise. “Over there!”he cries to his brother, Carlo, sunning beside him. “Over there!”
So begins the adventure that will tear a hole in Pietros life. For while he and hisbrother struggle to save two drowning swimmers, a tragedy is unfolding down theroad at his summer cottage. Instead of coming home to a heros welcome, Pietrois greeted by the flashing lights of an ambulance, the wide-eyed stare of his youngdaughter, Claudia, and the terrible news that his fiancée, Lara, is dead.
Life must go on. Or does it? Pietro, a true iconoclast, has to find his own way.When he drops Claudia off for the first day of school, he decides to wait outsidefor her all day, and then every day. To protect her. To protect himself. To wait forthe heavy fist of grief to strike. But as the days and weeks go by, the small parkinglot in front of the school becomes his refuge from the world as well as the placewhere family and colleagues come to relieve their own suffering—among them, thewoman he rescued from the waves. And Pietro plunges deeper into the depths ofhis life before seeing the simple truth before his eyes. Sandro Veronesi makes art of every detail, creating a mosaic of humor, hope,profound insight, and emotional resonance. Quiet Chaos is an unprecedented portrayalof a life set adrift by death.
Review
“Dazzling.... Like a literary Fellini, Veronesi brings to life the larger-than-life human comedy as only an Italian would dare, uproariously funny in the face of stark tragedy. Its a reading experience not to be missed.” Shelf Awareness
Review
“[An] absorbing second novel.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Mr. Veronesi sustains the opening scenes excitement as he stirs a psychological ferment….The overpowering sense of fragility that touches Pietro and Claudia is superbly conveyed by translator Michael F. Moore. Lets hope more novels from Mr. Veronesis back catalog join ‘Quiet Chaos in translation.” Wall Street Journal
Synopsis
The winner of the Strega Prize, Italys top literary award, and the basis of an internationally acclaimed motion picture, Quiet Chaos is now available in America. Author Sandro Veronesi, whose work has been glowingly compared to the novels of Ian McEwan and Martin Amis, dazzles with this powerfully compelling, often darkly funny story of a television producer whose world is misshapen by ironic tragedy. An unforgettable contemporary fable about stepping out of life after it cruelly turns everything upside-down, and finding a resolution to the unsolvable problem of loss in the beauty and strangeness of the everyday, Quiet Chaos is another literary wonder from the author of The Force of the Past.
About the Author
Sandro Veronesi was born in Prato, Italy, in 1959. The Force of the Past, is his first to be published in America. He lives in Rome, Italy.