About the Author

Claudia Durastanti is the author of four critically acclaimed novels. Strangers I Know (La straniera) won the Premio Pozzale Luigi Russo and the Premio Strega Off, and was a finalist for the Premio Strega. Durastanti is a former Italian Fellow in Literature at the American Academy in Rome, and one of the founders of the Italian Literature Festival in London. She has written for Granta, Bomb and the Los Angeles Review of Books, and is the Italian translator for Ocean Vuong and the most recent edition of The Great Gatsby, among others. For now, she lives in Rome.

Reviews

‘Formally innovative and emotionally complex, this novel explores themes of communication, family, and belonging with exceptional insight. Durastanti, celebrated in Italy for her intelligent voice and her hybrid perspective, speaks to all who are outside and in between. Strangers I Know, in a bracing translation by Elizabeth Harris, is stunning.’
*Jhumpa Lahiri*

‘Brave and deeply felt…Here the novel is not only a medium of illumination, but also a buoy cast into the dark waters of memory, imagination, and boldly embodied questions. In other words, it is my favorite kind of writing, the kind that not only tells of the world—but burrows through it, alive.’
*Ocean Vuong*

‘Claudia Durastanti’s writing is lyrical and sharp, underpinned with a searching gaze that turns the everyday into something darkly beautiful. Every page feels totally, absorbingly, alive.’
*Sophie Mackintosh*

‘Halfway between Natalia Ginzburg and Joan Didion, Durastanti’s [Strangers I Know] is her Family Lexicon.’
*L’Independente*

‘Part novel, part memoir, it fascinates with its hybrid character and its subtle style.’
*Esquire (Italy)*

‘Playful, looping, atmospheric and funny, Strangers I Know is a singular achievement, one of those rare books that expanded my understanding of what a novel can do. Claudia Durastanti is an absolutely thrilling writer.’
*Lauren Groff*

‘A fiercely inventive, lyrical journey into the heart, and into the cultures of America, Italy and England. Durastanti’s singular voice and the intensity of her honesty stayed with me. I’ve never read or heard anything like this book.’
*Krys Lee*

‘A shape-shifting work straddling the boundaries of genre…Fans of Jenny Offill and Rachel Cusk will enjoy this unusual work of personal mythology.’
*Kirkus Reviews*

‘Insightful and complex…an enjoyable and distinctive bildungsroman.’
*Publishers Weekly*

‘Strangers I Know is a flame held up to the inexpressible self.’
*Ploughshares*

‘A tremendous work…Durastanti's genre-defying novel delivers profound insights into the connections between self, language, art and disability.’
*Shelf Awareness (starred review)*

‘Strangers I Know is alive with intensely original storytelling while packing an emotional punch.’
*Happy Mag*

‘I think this book is my favourite of the year so far…the writing is so beautiful.’
*Kate Evans, RN Bookshelf*

‘Durastanti’s inventive approach yields touching portraits of the characters, while respecting their ultimate unknowability.’
*New Yorker*

‘I think this book is my favourite of the year so far…the writing is so beautiful.’
*Kate Evans, RN Bookshelf*

‘Intensely arresting…These characters are fascinating.’
*ABC Arts*

‘Very clever… [Durastanti] pulls you into her world.’
*Radio NZ: Nine to Noon*

’Strangers I Know is a novel alive with an almost impatient curiosity…The novel resists linearity: it is responsive and recursive, deeply layered and logical. Each sentence becomes a story within itself: crafted, considered, yet surprisingly loose, playful and continually gesturing beyond itself—pulling in anecdotes, memories and references to historical figures, artists, literature and film. It is simply dazzling.’
*Fiona Murphy, Big Issue*

‘Extraordinary...Durastanti’s attempts to bridge the gap between herself and her family are at the center of Strangers I Know. These sections of the book break new ground and are the reason why it has been translated into twenty-one languages and is being made into a television series.’
*New York Review of Books*