Division - Paperback

by Piero Ianniello (Author), Anna Strowe (Translator)

1950. Giacomo Todisco makes his way through post-war Italy to try to find his daughter, his only remaining family member, who went missing during the war after the rest of the family was killed by the Germans.

1944. The Gustav Line in Italy separates the German forces in the North from the Allies in the South. Desperate villagers bring information to the Americans and help carry out acts of sabotage in exchange for food. In reprisal, the family of one of the partisan leaders is massacred, all except his three-year-old daughter, who vanishes.

Taking inspiration from a real post-war custody trial, Division deftly weaves together characters and events through this period to reveal the human impacts of war, which last long after the final shots are fired. The narrative follows several threads, moving through physical and mental landscapes and across time, a quiet reflection on the confusion, loss, and hope brought by war.