"Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, De Gregorio takes a true story and reveals what life cannot. Extraordinary."-Grazia

Irina's life with her husband and her twin daughters is orderly. An Italian living in Switzerland, she works as a lawyer. One day, something breaks. The marriage ends without apparent trauma, but on a weekend seemingly like any other, the girls' father takes Alessia and Livia away with him. They disappear.

A few days later the man takes his own life. Of the girls, there is no trace.

Concita De Gregorio takes the unadorned, terrible facts of this true story and embodies the protagonist's voice. In a narrative that is fast and urgent, she unravels these traumatic events to tell the story of a mother bereft of her children - a state for which there is no word.

An urgently told story and a fierce portrait of a woman in all her frailty and courage, The Missing Word delves deep into Irina's thoughts and memories as she grasps at the shreds of truth and, piece by piece, stitches her life back together.

About the Author
Concita De Gregorio is a writer, journalist and broadcaster. One of La Repubblica's best known and long-established columnists, and former Editor of L'Unita, she is the author of several works of non-fiction on politics and current affairs, as well as women's and children's issues. The Missing Word is her second novel. Clarissa Botsford studied at Cambridge and Comparative Education in London before moving to Rome. She currently teaches English and Translation Studies at Roma Tre University. She translates contemporary Italian fiction and poetry.

Reviews
"[The Missing Word] is, most wonderfully and strangely, a book about making an accommodation with something unbearable." * Catherine Taylor, Irish Times *
"Crime from other climes is also satisfyingly in evidence with The Missing Word , in which the familiar scenario of the implosion of a perfect family is given a provocative twist (the translation by Clarissa Botsford is as impressive as one would expect from the publisher, Europa editions)." * Barry Forshaw, CrimeTime *
"Delving deep beneath the surface of one woman's grief to leave a lasting impression, this heartfelt novel offers itself up as a much-needed space - full of words of comfort and advice - for that as-of-yet nameless group of people who have existed without a voice for far too long." * Buzz Magazine *
"Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, De Gregorio takes a true story and reveals what life cannot. Extraordinary." * Grazia *
"From a tragic true story, a book about love and the saving power of words." * Panorama *
"Moving and intense." * Il Piccolo *



Book Information
ISBN 9781787703698
Author Concita De Gregorio
Format Paperback
Page Count 112
Imprint Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
Publisher Europa Editions (UK) Ltd