Written by Antonio Tabucchi, one of the most renowned voices in European literature and the foremost Italian writer of his generation, this sublimely questioning, superbly imaginative collection of fragments and quasi-stories moves from impression to association to conjecture.

“[Tabucchi’s] prose creates a deep, near-profound and sometimes heart-wrenching nostalgia and constantly evokes the pain of recognizing the speed of life’s passing which everyone knows but few have the strength to accept … Wonderfully thought-provoking and beautiful.”

—Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered

“Like good short fiction, the stories in this volume act in ways that suggest a wider world outside the frame of the story.”

—Sycamore Review

There is in Tabucchi’s stories the touch of the true magician, who astonishes us by never trying too hard for his subtle, elusive and remarkable effects.

— The San Francisco Examiner

By now the appearance of a new novel by Antonio Tabucchi is a literary event.

— World Literature Today