The Book of Hidden Things

Four friends have a pact: to meet up on the same day every year in their small hometown in southern Italy. Art, the charismatic leader of the group, has always been adamant about the pact. But this year, he doesn't show up. Searching for him, the friends make a worrying discovery: Art has been farming marijuana, a very dangerous activity in mafia-controlled country. Asking around in town, they hear bizarre and incredible rumours that Art cured a young girl of leukemia. And then, amongst the chaos of his house, they find a curious manuscript written by Art called The Book of Hidden Things, which promises to reveal secrets enchanting as flames, and just as treacherous...

"In lesser hands, this blend of detective story, organized crime thriller, and supernatural investigation would feel like a grab bag of plot devices, but Dimitri has created a thrilling spectacle that also manages to point poignantly at the way the landscapes we grow up in shape us in ways even beyond our understanding. A deeply felt look at the idea of home, clothed as a popcornworthy page-turner." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"An evocative meditation on friendship, adulthood, and the liminal spaces that lie just outside human perception...Dimitri’s beautifully written tale, steeped in nostalgia, folklore, and religion, will enthrall and terrify readers." - Publishers Weekly

"A mystifying exploration of unbelief and faith, Francesco Dimitri’s The Book of Hidden Things dazzles with portraits of men at a crossroads... Skillfully touches on the deepest vulnerabilities in characters who evolve into sharper versions of themselves...Challenges the limits of rationality. Here, mysteries aren’t riddles to solve, but answers that lie within reach." -- Foreword Reviews

"The Book of Hidden Things shows us that memories are stories that refuse to belong only to the past. Such stories can create places that are both wonderful and dangerous; whether we believe in them or not is up to us." Aliya Whiteley, author of The Beauty

• *"What a glorious read! This sun-drenched fantasy is a feast for the senses, reflecting on the value of friendship and what it means to finally grow up. If you loved the Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane, this book is for you." Helen Marshall, author of Gifts for the One Who Comes After
• "The Book of Hidden Things is both a mystery and a map. Follow the clues along the trail in Francesco Dimtri’s dazzing debut and you’ll be ushered into a hidden world of magic, not only within these pages, but also within your own life. Be prepared to be transformed." Mark Chadbourn, author of Age of Misrule

"As soon as I read the first lines of The Book of Hidden Things, I felt at home. It is an immersive book, that draws you in and never lets you go. Gripping, ruthless in the way it describes the age of reason, dominated by a mysterious, magical Salento landscape very far from the chocolate box images we are used to. In a word, unmissable." Licia Troisi, author of Nihal From The Land Of Wind

"Francesco Dimitri's first novel in English is a wonder and a revelation. Hidden within this gripping, frightening story about an arcane manuscript is a deep, clear-eyed, and compassionate meditation on friendship as it evolves over time. The Book of Hidden Things *is fantasy at it's best: using magical tropes to illuminate real life." Terri Windling, author of *The Wood Wife

"What a joy to have this in English. Francesco Dimitri's fantastic fantasy novel has everything I like. A sensation of damp shadows moving just out of sight, and a slow, joyful, and mysterious unravelling of events. I can't recommend it too highly." Joe R. Lansdale, author of The Thicket

Auteur

Francesco Dimitri is a prize-winning writer of fiction and nonfiction, a comic book writer and a screenwriter. He published eight books in Italian before switching to English. His first Italian novel was made into a film, and his last was defined by as the sort of book from which a genre 'starts again'. His first English novel, The Book of Hidden Things, a critical and commercial success, has been optioned for cinema and TV. After his second, Never The Wind, the Fortean Times called him 'one of the most wondrous writers of our time'.

Texte du rabat

This English language debut from popular Italian fantasy writer Francesco Dimitri combines the richness of detail of Michael Chabon and Donna Tartt with the inventive flair of Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood, as three friends look for their fourth friend after he fails to honour the pact that sees them meet every year in the town they grew up in.

Résumé
From "one of the most significant figures of the last generation of fantasy", comes Francesco Dimitri's debut novel in English, an enthralling and seductive fantasy following four old friends and the secrets they keep.