The Brittle Age

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

Literary Hub Notable Small Press Book of 2025
Winner of the 2024 Strega Prize and the 2024 Youth Strega Prize

★ “A gut-wrenching excavation of generational trauma... this contemplative novel offers a subtle but piercing meditation on the complex dynamics between parents and children.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Acclaimed Italian author Donatella Di Pietrantonio’s best-selling novel to date, The Brittle Age is a powerful mother and daughter story and a profound exploration of human fragility and the haunting shadows of the past 

In the 1990s, deep in the Maiella mountains of Central Italy, a brutal crime shatters the peace of the local community. Two young women are murdered, a third left for dead. Lucia is twenty years old back, and the only survivor is her best friend.    

Now, Lucia is a physiotherapist, separating from her husband, her daughter Amanda studying in Milan.  When the pandemic forces Amanda to return to the family’s home near Pescara, Lucia’s memories are reawakened, and with them the impact of past trauma.  

Set against the backdrop of the rugged Apennine mountains, this gripping psychological family drama weaves Lucia and Amanda’s personal struggles with the mystery of the tragedy that marked their familial land decades earlier.   

Inspired by true events, The Brittle Age is a tale of individual resilience, and a commentary on the indelible impact of historical events on personal lives and the broader community.