For Grace Received

Naples is a chaotic, vibrant place whose inhabitants are as volatile and contrary as the city itself. Here, past and present collide, contradictions and conflict reign. From this frantic melange, Valeria Parrella has extracted four exceptional novellas. For Grace Received is a seductive portrait of Naples new and old, where the era of tobacco smuggling gives way to the spread of hard drugs, the vivacity of the traditional extended family meets the crushing solitude of countless anonymous loners, young men and women are forced to make ends meet while their parents serve time, and single mothers struggle to raise children amidst violence and despair. In Valeria Parrella's Naples, life, love and happiness must all be pursued with passion, or not at all.
The stories in this collection represent some of the finest short fiction to have emerged from Italy in recent years. Winner of the 2005 Renato Fusini Prize, the 2006 Zerilli-Marimo Prize, and among the finalists for Italy's most prestigious literary award, the Strega, For Grace Received announces the English debut of a remarkable new literary talent.