Lampedusa

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE 2019

Set in a sun-drenched Sicily, among the decadent Italian aristocracy of the late 1950s, Steven Price’s Lampedusa explores the final years of Giuseppe Tomasi, last prince of Lampedusa, as he struggles to complete his only novel, The Leopard.

In 1955, Giuseppe Tomasi was diagnosed with advanced emphysema; shortly after, he began work on a novel that would fail to be published before his death four years later. When The Leopard at last appeared, it won Italy’s Strega Prize, and became the greatest Italian novel of the century.

Adhering intensely to the facts of Lampedusa’s life, but moving deep into the mind of the author, Lampedusa inhabits the complicated interior of a man facing down the end of his life, struggling to make something of lasting worth, while there is still time.

PRAISE FOR LAMPEDUSA

‘A masterful storyteller, Price conjures Tomasi with language and images that evocatively fix him and his distant world indelibly in our minds.’ Jury Citation, Scotiabank Giller Prize

‘The prose is superbly controlled, richly textured, brimming with wise and lyrical insights that make it a worthy heir to its mighty predecessor. New York Times

’[a] brooding, beautiful book’ Washington Post

‘A lyrical and sensitive portrait of a man nearing the end of his life.’ Kirkus Review

‘Readers will savor this rich look at Italian history.’ Publishers Weekly

‘Lampedusa is one of the most powerful depictions of the creative act, and its roots in the wounds of the soul, that a reader is likely to encounter… . Lampedusa is a marvel, a strange, wonderful, and utterly unforgettable book.’ Toronto Star