The Last Man Standing: The chilling apocalyptic thriller that predicts Italy's collapse - Couverture souple

Longo, Davide

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0857051229 ISBN 13 : 9780857051226

Editeur : MacLehose Press, 2012

Synopsis

Italy is on the brink of collapse. Borders are closed, banks withhold money, the postal service stalls. Armed gangs of drug-fuelled youths roam the countryside. Leonardo was a famous writer and professor before a sex scandal ended his marriage and career. Heading north in search of her new husband, his ex-wife leaves their daughter and her son in his care. If he is to take them to safety, he will need to find a quality he has never possessed: courage.

A propos du livre

Extrait

It was not the sharp pain that woke Leonardo, but the sound of his nose being broken: a clean snap without an echo, like a stick breaking. Stunned, he opened his eyes, but barely had time to recognize the leaden first light of daybreak between the branches before something hard and hollow hit him on the cheekbone. As he sank into darkness he heard Lucia cry out. Opening his left eye, he saw her on all fours being dragged along by a man with an antique-looking rifle in his free hand.

“Lucia!” he tried to yell, but blood filled his mouth and turned her name into an incomprehensible choking sound. Then someone grabbed him by the collar. He kicked out in an effort to break free, but with the speed of someone who has done nothing else all his life, the man tied his head against the tree behind him with two turns of wire, forced his arms behind his back and bound his wrists together. Leonardo felt his shoulder pop out of joint. He shrieked. Someone kicked him in the mouth, breaking several teeth.

When he opened his eyes again, a youth with blond hair was crouching beside him, his face a few centimeters from Leonardo’s. His hair was divided by a central parting and he had the nut-colored eyes of a young dog. Two glossy black marks on his cheeks looked as if they had been made with pitch or tempera. He had no eyebrows.

Leonardo began to say something, but the boy was too quick for him.

“Take it easy,” he said in a friendly voice.

Revue de presse

'gruesome, intense and strange ... a Eurozone nightmare brought to life on the page' Financial Times. (Financial Times)

'We suspect that Davide Longo is the most talented and intense Italian novelist of his generation' Valentina Pigmei, G.Q. (GQ)

'It turns an unforgiving spotlight turned on an increasingly unstable world. We can only hope that Longo's visionary diagram of our possible future remains on the printed page' Independent. (Independent)

'The depiction of civilisation's end is terrifyingly convincing ... After reading this, life in Ireland under austerity seems a nonstop frolic' Irish Times. (Irish Times)

'The Last Man Standing is set to be one of the best novels this year' SFX. (SFX)

'Longo has succeeded in crafting a shimmering parable' Maike Albath, Süddeutsche Zeitung. (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

'With mesmerising control of language, Longo weaves a tale that will leave readers with much to think about long after they have put it down' The Irish Examiner. (Irish Examiner)

'a totally unique novel that blends despair with hope and angst with serenity so well that it deserves to be held in similar high esteem. An inspiring read' We Love This Book. (We Love This Book)

'this is a complex and compelling investigation of the behaviour of survival' TLS. (TLS)

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: MacLehose Press
• Date d'édition: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0857051229
• ISBN 13: 9780857051226
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 352