Without Blood

In a farmhouse deep in the Italian countryside a horrifying act of violence occurs. The one family survivor from this vendetta is four-year-old Nina. And she lives only because of an extraordinary act of mercy. Many years later, as a woman in her fifties, Nina meets her childhood saviour and revisits the events of that fateful night, events which have shaped her entire life.

Without Blood is a haunting novella about longing, memory and forgiveness from the much-loved author of Silk.

Praise for Without Blood:

‘Tantalising and effortlessly evocative. Written in spare, electrically charged prose, it is a haunting psychological study of violence and passion.’

Age

‘Readers familiar with Baricco's elegant and elegiac Silk won't be surprised by the quality of fable here, the uncluttered style, and the unapologetic addressing of complex ideas.'

Listener

'This glittering fragment of a book…exerts a greater hold on the reader than seems possible, given its brief length, but it is completely satisfying. Baricco and his tiny novel will be around for a long time to come.'

Sunday Herald (UK)