Lampedusa

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE 2019 Set in a sun-drenched Sicily, among the decadent Italian aristocracy of the late 1950s, Steven Price's Lampedusa explores the final years of Giuseppe Tomasi, last prince of Lampedusa, as he struggles to complete his only novel, The Leopard. In 1955, Giuseppe Tomasi was diagnosed with advanced emphysema; shortly after, he began work on a novel that would fail to be published before his death four years later. When The Leopard at last appeared, it won Italy's Strega Prize, and became the greatest Italian novel of the century. Adhering intensely to the facts of Lampedusa's life, but moving deep into the mind of the author, Lampedusa inhabits the complicated interior of a man facing down the end of his life, struggling to make something of lasting worth, while there is still time. PRAISE FOR LAMPEDUSA 'A masterful storyteller, Price conjures Tomasi with language and images that evocatively fix him and his distant world indelibly in our minds.' Jury Citation, Scotiabank Giller Prize 'The prose is superbly controlled, richly textured, brimming with wise and lyrical insights that make it a worthy heir to its mighty predecessor." New York Times '[a] brooding, beautiful book' Washington Post 'A lyrical and sensitive portrait of a man nearing the end of his life.' Kirkus Review 'Readers will savor this rich look at Italian history.' Publishers Weekly 'Lampedusa is one of the most powerful depictions of the creative act, and its roots in the wounds of the soul, that a reader is likely to encounter. . . . Lampedusa is a marvel, a strange, wonderful, and utterly unforgettable book.' Toronto Star

Reviews

So vivid and true . . . Lampedusa is a beautiful novel, lyrical and wise. Reading it made me feel both melancholy and uplifted. -- David Gilmour, author of The Last Leopard, A Life of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa * Financial Times *
Lampedusa is one of the most powerful depictions of the creative act, and its roots in the wounds of the soul, that a reader is likely to encounter . . . Lampedusa is a marvel, a strange, wonderful, and utterly unforgettable book. * Toronto Star *
More striking than the biographical accuracy or even the intricate scaffolding of the story is the texture of images by Price, also a poet. Their beauty casts the same spell as his sensualist subject and the unhurried pleasure of experiencing them. * The Globe and Mail *
Price powerfully imagines Tomasis final days as the ailing author struggles to complete and publish his treasured manuscript . . . A masterful storyteller, Price conjures Tomasi with language and images that evocatively fix him and his distant world indelibly in our minds. -- Jury Citation, Scotiabank Giller Prize
In subtle and intelligent prose, Price invites us into the mind of a man striving to make sense of memory and mortality. * Sunday Times *
Prices dignified prose is reminiscent of the venerable classic. Lampedusa is a captivating look at life and legacy. * Irish Times *
The prose is superbly controlled, richly textured, brimming with wise and lyrical insights that make it a worthy heir to its mighty predecessor. * New York Times *
[Price traces] his protagonists path toward death and self-knowledge in an unsparing yet tender portrait that makes Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa as compelling as his great novel. * Washington Post *
An ode to writing itself . . . The authors poetic prose is infused with empathic warmth for the emotional travails of writing . . . An obviously, if quietly, ambitious novel. * Los Angeles Review of Books *

Author Bio

Steven Price's first collection of poems, Anatomy of Keys, won Canada's 2007 Gerald Lampert Award for Best First Collection, was short-listed for the BC Poetry Prize, and was named a Globe and Mail Book of the Year. His first novel, Into That Darkness, was short-listed for the 2012 BC Fiction Prize. His second collection of poems, Omens in the Year of the Ox, won the 2013 ReLit Award. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his family.