For grace received - Softcover

"A voice that is new, original, and decidedly special."-"Rolling Stone"(Italy)

"It's been a long time-maybe since the times of Pasolini himself-since we last had the impression, as we do here, that literature was somehow connected to politics and society, or even that it could have some impact on them both."-"Vanity Fair" (Italy)

"Parrella is the best of our authors. Her books are a (rare) example of intellectual maturity and honesty."- "Il Giornale"

"Parrella's women seem to have emerged from the novels of Balzac, Tolstoy, or Dostoyevsky: this book is a further confirmation of a talent capable of drawing from literature as well as from life."-"La Repubblica"

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.