All That is Left of Life
Published on 10. July 2025
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-0-349-70458-6 (ISBN)
Description
'Will soon become a classic.' Elle Espana
'One of the most beautiful Italian novels of recent years.' The Hollywood Reporter Roma
'Every book club will want to discuss this novel.' Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Bright Years
One summer evening, in a quiet seaside town near Rome, everything changes for the Ansaldo family.
The Ansaldo family's contented life is built on routine, with days spent running their beloved delicatessen and summers at their modest house by the sea. But when sixteen-year-old Betta sets off for a beach party and never returns, they are left only with grief - and questions.
The town whispers, the police are lost, and as the family fractures under the weight of their loss, no one suspects the burden Miriam carries. She has answers, but vows to tell no one, even those who loved Betta most. Seeking to bury her heavy secret, Miriam drifts into the orbit of Leo, a young drug dealer, and gains an unlikely set of friends. But when Leo starts to pull loose the threads of Betta's fate, will his search for the truth offer Miriam a way forward or risk unravelling everything?
Readers around the world are saying . . .
'Alive, authentic, told with an intensity that touches the heart' ?????
'One of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Devoured in a day and a half' ?????
'This book is a punch in the stomach . . . and a journey into the depths of the human being' ?????
'Made me cry over and over again . . . A book I will never forget!' ?????
'A novel you think about all day . . . while experiencing all the emotions in the world. You fall in love, cry, go crazy with rage' ?????
'An amazing story! I read it in one day, I couldn't leave it . . . So exciting, warm, painful, loving and surprising' ?????
'A true masterpiece' ?????
'One of the most beautiful Italian novels of recent years.' The Hollywood Reporter Roma
'Every book club will want to discuss this novel.' Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Bright Years
One summer evening, in a quiet seaside town near Rome, everything changes for the Ansaldo family.
The Ansaldo family's contented life is built on routine, with days spent running their beloved delicatessen and summers at their modest house by the sea. But when sixteen-year-old Betta sets off for a beach party and never returns, they are left only with grief - and questions.
The town whispers, the police are lost, and as the family fractures under the weight of their loss, no one suspects the burden Miriam carries. She has answers, but vows to tell no one, even those who loved Betta most. Seeking to bury her heavy secret, Miriam drifts into the orbit of Leo, a young drug dealer, and gains an unlikely set of friends. But when Leo starts to pull loose the threads of Betta's fate, will his search for the truth offer Miriam a way forward or risk unravelling everything?
Readers around the world are saying . . .
'Alive, authentic, told with an intensity that touches the heart' ?????
'One of the most beautiful books I have ever read. Devoured in a day and a half' ?????
'This book is a punch in the stomach . . . and a journey into the depths of the human being' ?????
'Made me cry over and over again . . . A book I will never forget!' ?????
'A novel you think about all day . . . while experiencing all the emotions in the world. You fall in love, cry, go crazy with rage' ?????
'An amazing story! I read it in one day, I couldn't leave it . . . So exciting, warm, painful, loving and surprising' ?????
'A true masterpiece' ?????
Reviews / Votes
One of the best books I've read in 2024 . . . [All That is Left of Life] will soon become a classic. * Elle Espana * One of the most beautiful Italian novels of recent years, difficult to fit into a single genre. Roberta Recchia's book is a vast family saga spanning three generations, combining elements of thriller, romance and Bildungsroman. * The Hollywood Reporter Roma * Every book club will want to discuss this novel. Urgent and affecting, All That is Left of Life is an epic story that holds violence up to the light, where its isolating devastation is shown-but where tenderness and hope are revealed to be just as powerful. Recchia masterfully demonstrates how complicated it can be to survive, yet how worthwhile. This is a sharp-eyed, soft-hearted exploration of the human experience, and I will never forget it. -- Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of THE BRIGHT YEARS A universal and timeless story. * Corriere di Puglia e Lucania * Recchia captures the very essence of her heroine's inner struggles, making her journey both tragic and universal. Marisa, a figure of resistance in the face of moral and familial oppression . . . It is a tragedy, splendid, distressing, superb. * ActuaLitte * A captivating family novel, but also a Bildungsroman fueled by a very subtle psychological vein. Despite the cruelty of the events narrated, tenderness and gentleness are sought and highlighted, in a game of balance of forces from which hope emerges. * Tiscali * A gripping family novel. * Alles fuer die Frau * An emotional rollercoaster . . . * Kleine Zeitung * As if you can feel the Italian sun on your skin. Captivating . . . and very profound! * Neue Freizeit *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Murray Press
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 43 mm
Weight
698 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-349-70458-6 (9780349704586)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Born in Rome in 1972, Roberta Recchia graduated in European and American Languages and Literature. She lived for a time in Lille, France, where she earned a master's degree in Relations Interculturelles et Cooperation Internationale. She worked for ten years for a big company and then quit office work to devote herself to teaching. She currently teaches English in a high school in Rome. She is passionate about film and literature, especially Russian and French. She lives with her chihuahua, Claudio, in a small town on the coast of Lazio.
Antonella Lettieri is a London-based translator with over ten years of experience working into English and Italian. She was the 2023 NCW Emerging Translator Mentee for Italian and was awarded first prize in the 2023 John Dryden Translation.
Antonella Lettieri is a London-based translator with over ten years of experience working into English and Italian. She was the 2023 NCW Emerging Translator Mentee for Italian and was awarded first prize in the 2023 John Dryden Translation.