The Listener

Following the detachment of his retina, travel writer Diego Tribeca is left half-blind. Returning to his family home to await treatment, he discovers that his phone is tapped into those of the other residents in his block. In his solitude his eavesdropping becomes an obsession, and he becomes more and more involved in their lives. He starts a relationship with one of the tenants, who unknowingly is the missing link in his troubled family history. Listening to other people's stories and problems, he begins an investigation into his own past life, which in turn will change his future.

Translated from the Italian novel Ti Ascolto by Federica De Paolis, who is particularly good at depicting the weakness and obsessions of contemporary women, the novel takes delicate issues like cancer, anorexia and domestic violence and deals with them bluntly and directly in a story that takes place in contemporary Italy, but could be happening anywhere... even next door to you.