Following the success of L'acqua del lago non è mai dolce, Giulia Caminito returns to bookstores with Il male che non c'è (Bompiani), and we at GO are thrilled to welcome her on stage alongside Agnese Pini and Roberta Mazzanti. With readings by Michele Ragno.

About the Book:

In life, we sometimes find the world divided between those who act fearlessly and those of us who are haunted by a hidden pain beneath the surface. For Loris, it all began in childhood summers spent in the magical vegetable garden of his grandfather Tempesta, near the ruins of ancient Galeria. With his grandfather, his obsessive need to read away his worries would vanish as he learned wonderful things, like how to build an aviary and care for pigeons—loyal and iridescent. Now thirty, Loris has made a career out of reading, lives in the city, and has a girlfriend nicknamed Jo. But his job at a publishing house is precarious, and the pressure of adulthood weighs heavily on him, nearly consuming him. Loris retreats inward, at first to protect himself, and then to understand the warning signs his body is sending. A deep malaise grips him, one capable of extinguishing any remaining hope. As doctors, his girlfriend, and family grow more distant, Loris is left with only two allies: social media, which feeds his inner ghosts, and Catastrophe, a shapeshifting creature—cat, wolf, friend, bride—who stands by him in his darkest hours. Once again, Giulia Caminito uses the novel to portray herself and her generation, one that hasn’t experienced wars or material deprivations, yet has been marked by the isolation of the internet and insecurity. Her spare, vivid prose here opens to an unexpectedly dreamlike atmosphere, making hypochondria a memorable protagonist—the seductive, mocking Catastrophe—while bringing to life a contemporary “dark wood,” where our most painful experiences take shape amidst the urban landscape.

About the Author:

Giulia Caminito is an Italian author. With a degree in Political Philosophy, she decided to pursue a career in writing. Her father is from Asmara, her grandparents met in Assab, and her great-grandmother was a truck driver, liquor smuggler, and a lively figure in the Italian communities of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Her debut novel, La Grande A, dedicated to her great-grandmother's adventurous life, won several awards, including the Bagutta Opera Prima, the Berto, and the Brancati Giovani. She also authored her first children’s book, La ballerina e il marinaio (Orecchio Acerbo, 2018). Her 2019 novel, Un giorno verrà, published by Bompiani, received the XXVIII Premio Fiesole Narrativa Under 40. In 2021, she won the prestigious Premio Campiello with L'acqua del lago non è mai dolce (Bompiani, 2021). In 2024, Bompiani published her latest work, Il male che non c'è.