Books from Italy

Set during the summer of 1983, Rimini brings together the lives of seven people in the bustling seaside resort on Italy’s Adriatic coast. At the center is Marco Bauer, a young journalist sent from Rome to manage his newspaper’s summer edition. Hoping to establish his reputation, he becomes involved in a story that leads him into a world of political corruption, professional rivalries, and unexpected relationships. Around him, other lives unfold: a German woman searches for her missing younger sister, two aspiring filmmakers struggle to finance their ambitions, a lonely musician seeks connection among the coastal nightclubs, and a struggling hotel owner faces financial ruin. Their stories intersect against a backdrop of crowded beaches, neon lights, discos, and the restless energy of Italy in the 1980s. With vivid characters and a cinematic atmosphere, Tondelli transforms Rimini into a portrait of contemporary Italian society, exposing the tensions beneath its image of carefree summer pleasures. The novel explores ambition, desire, loneliness, and the pursuit of happiness in a world increasingly shaped by money, spectacle, and fleeting connections.

Three estranged sisters reunite at their wealthy father’s villa on the sun-drenched Italian island of Capri, nearly a decade after their family fell apart. Cora, Diana, and Kiki have built very different lives, but their unpredictable father has summoned them for a reason none of them expects. When his shocking announcement exposes old wounds and deepens their mistrust, the sisters must confront the secrets that have kept them apart. A witty, emotional family drama about sisterhood, betrayal, forgiveness, and the possibility of starting over.