Valerio Varesi gives further proof of his narrative talents with an unconventional offbeat noir
«I am beginning to suspect that even scientists try to assess the universe based on human experience. All our theories are just a load of crap to cover up the fact that we know fuck all.» teacher Pampaluga, from L’ora buca

We live in furious balance on the surface of an arancino… Thus begins the tale of our narrator, a perplexed science teacher whose rationality has begun to waver under reality’s blows. His counterpart in a world of screaming teenagers, epicurean janitors and impossible dreams, is Mr. Pampaluga, much more cynical teacher with a penchant for the pleasures of the flesh. But it will fall to our protagonist to encounter a mysterious agency. To take on the identity of the dead husband of an inconsolable widow. And to try and find a way out of a more and more equivocal situation. Relying on his intelligence, of course, but also on skills of quite a different nature.
• For over twenty years Valerio Varesi has written thrillers set in Northern Italy and historical noirs. With the keen insights and ironic detachment of a true reporter he has created memorable characters and stories exploring the human condition. And his loyal readers have followed him wherever he decided to take them.
• Varesi clearly has a “taste for symbolism” contributing to the mysterious and distinctively Italian quality of the novel. - TIMES LITERARY
SUPPLEMENT
• Un fantastique écrivain, dont la poésie, la finesse et la truculence tout italienne rivalisent avec un art de l’intrigue habilement emballée - LE FIGARO