
The Old Man by the Sea
Domenico Starnone(Author)
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 13. August 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-1-78770-652-1 (ISBN)
Description
A slim, virtuoso novel about age and imagination, by one of Italy's greatest contemporary writers
82-year-old Nicola has spent his entire life telling stories, and becoming very, very good at it. In words, with his pen, in the notebook he carries with him everywhere, he records life's minutiae, its ephemera, those almost imperceptible atoms of existence that most of us barely notice. Recording the universe in each grain of sand has become second nature to Nicola. But there is always something that escapes, remaining on the margins, intuited rather than identified. And this fact, for Nicola, is a source of deep anxiety and a growing sense of failure.
Now, ensconced in a house on the dunes south of Rome, Nicola spends his mornings writing, watching the waves, and observing Lu, a store clerk in her twenties whose graceful canoeing stirs faint echoes of his mother. As Nicola reflects on the women who shaped him and the passions he has never outgrown, he finds himself drawn into the intrigues of the small seaside town. He will end by embarking on an improbable and ill-advised kayak adventure of his own with Lu's young son, as Starnone brings his tale about memory and reinvention to an unexpected conclusion.
82-year-old Nicola has spent his entire life telling stories, and becoming very, very good at it. In words, with his pen, in the notebook he carries with him everywhere, he records life's minutiae, its ephemera, those almost imperceptible atoms of existence that most of us barely notice. Recording the universe in each grain of sand has become second nature to Nicola. But there is always something that escapes, remaining on the margins, intuited rather than identified. And this fact, for Nicola, is a source of deep anxiety and a growing sense of failure.
Now, ensconced in a house on the dunes south of Rome, Nicola spends his mornings writing, watching the waves, and observing Lu, a store clerk in her twenties whose graceful canoeing stirs faint echoes of his mother. As Nicola reflects on the women who shaped him and the passions he has never outgrown, he finds himself drawn into the intrigues of the small seaside town. He will end by embarking on an improbable and ill-advised kayak adventure of his own with Lu's young son, as Starnone brings his tale about memory and reinvention to an unexpected conclusion.
Reviews / Votes
"Tantalizing." * The Wall Street Journal * "A short gem of a novel." * Under the Radar *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 135 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78770-652-1 (9781787706521)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Domenico Starnone
The Old Man by the Sea
E-Book
approx. 08/2026
Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
€13.19
Not yet available
Persons
Domenico Starnone was born in Naples and lives in Rome. He is the author of thirteen works of fiction, including First Execution (Europa, 2009), Ties (Europa, 2017) a Sunday Times Best Book of the Year, Trick (Europa, 2018), a Finalist for the 2018 National Book Award and the 2019 PEN Translation Prize, Trust (Europa, 2021), and The House on Via Gemito (Europa, 2023), winner of Italy's most prestigious literary prize, the Strega. It was longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024.
Oonagh Stransky has been a translator of Italian literature for over 20 years. Some of the writers whose work she has brought into English include Pier Paolo Pasolini, Carlo Lucarelli, and Roberto Saviano.
Oonagh Stransky has been a translator of Italian literature for over 20 years. Some of the writers whose work she has brought into English include Pier Paolo Pasolini, Carlo Lucarelli, and Roberto Saviano.