The book
In an innovative, thrilling literary style inspired by the syncopated rhythms of modern music, Viola Di Grado has written a most unusual love story, one as unpredictable as the human heart. Camelia is a young Italian woman who lives with her mother in Leeds, a city where it is always December and winter has been underway for such a long time that nobody is old enough to have seen what came before.
Camelia has dropped out of university and translates instruction manuals for an Italian washing machine manufacturer; her mother, Livia Mega, once a renowned flautist, spends her days inside photographing holes in the house. Camelia and her mother communicate in a language of their own invention, in which words play no part. The lives of these two women have been undone by a calamity in their recent past, and there seems little or no possibility of ever finding their way back to a normal life. But one day Camelia meets Wen, a local shop owner. To win Camelia's affections, Wen begins teaching her Chinese ideograms. Through this new language of signs and subtle variations Camelia learns to see the world differently and, in it, a chance for renewal.
Bittersweet and funny at times, heartbreaking at others, 70% Acrylic 30% Wool announces the arrival of an exceptional new talent on the literary scene. It will find admirers among readers of fiction by contemporary novelists like Karen Russell and Jennifer Egan.
The author
Viola Di Grado
Viola Di Grado was born in Catania, Italy. She now lives and studies in London. 70% Acrylic 30% Wool, winner of the 2011 Campiello First Novel Award and a finalist for Italy's most prestigious literary prize, The Strega, is her first book.
Press
- Aug 10 2015
Music & Literature: "Viola Di Grado’s charming prose romps through chthonic worlds of nibbling insects, ammoniac seepage and shattering depression, using language that is both glib and scrumptious." - Jun 15 2015
Times Literary Supplement: 70% ACRYLIC 30% WOOL and THE HOLLOW HEART recommended reading! - Dec 31 2013
Follow the Thread: 70% Acrylic 30% Wool Chosen as one of the Top 12 Books Read in 2013 - Aug 15 2013
Tony's Reading List: "A wonderfully bizarre novel." - Mar 29 2013
Times Literary Supplement: "[Di Grado's] black comedy, pungent metaphors and controlled ambiguity announce the arrival of a considerable talent." - Mar 14 2013
Lizzy's Literary Life: "A worthy winner of Italy’s Campiello First Novel Prize."