Caterina Bonvicini lives between Rome and Milan and holds a
degree in Modern Literature from the University of Bologna. Her
novel L’equilibrio degli squali (2008) was hugely acclaimed and won
the Premio Rapallo, Premio Fregene, and Premio Frignano in Italy,
and the Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro in France. It was
followed by Il sorriso lento (2010), Correva l’anno del nostro
amore (2014), Tutte le donne di (2016), and Fancy Red (2018). Her
books have been translated in several countries.
Antony Shugaar is the author of a number of books and
has translated hundreds of others, including Everything Is
Broken Up and Dances by Edoardo Nesi and Guido Maria
Brera, Notes on a Shipwreck by Davide Enia, and The
Piranhas and Savage Kiss by Roberto Saviano. His
translation of Gianni Rodari’s Telephone Tales received
the American Library Association’s 2021 Batchelder Award. He is the
editor-in-chief of Redcar Press, a new publishing house focusing on
translated fiction and graphic novels.
“Deeply engrossing…This exquisitely written epic love story
traverses forty years of dark Italian history.” —Shelf
Awareness
“Acclaimed Italian writer Bonvicini creates satisfying characters
who are charming, short-sighted, selfish, and loving. Her rendering
of the politics and social structure of Italy from 1975 to 2013
have a nuanced authority, and the blend of the personal and
political feels authentic and adds depth and significance to the
story. Readers of Beautiful Ruins (2012) by Jess Walters, Like
Water for Chocolate (1992) by Laura Esquivel, and Gabriel García
Márquez will appreciate the star-crossed pain Bonvicini delivers
from start to finish.” —Booklist
“Deftly explor[es] class differences and family dynamics…Keenly
observant…This book is recommended for readers who like an
unconventional love story and are interested in the political and
social upheaval in Italy during the late twentieth century.”
—Library Journal
“A childhood friendship ebbs and flows over the course of several
tumultuous decades in Italy’s recent past…Bonvicini’s star-crossed
soul mates are ready for their miniseries.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Sweeping, surprising, and bristling with specificity, this novel
combines the best ingredients of a love story with unflinching
snapshots of a contemporary Italy roiled by violence, corruption,
and social upheaval. The clarity, honesty, and veracity of
Bonvicini’s writing will conquer you from page one. The first work
of this acclaimed author to appear in English, thanks to Antony
Shugaar’s supple translation, is cause for celebration.” —Jhumpa
Lahiri, author of Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake
“The Year of Our Love is a layered, riveting story of love and
complicated friendship set against a tumultuous period in
Italy’s history. Fresh and stylistic, with characters that will
remain with you, this modern saga has a clear ring of authenticity.
Caterina Bonvicini delivers a thoughtful, enthralling story full of
twists and turns. A story not to be missed.” —Jan Moran, USA
Today bestselling author of The Chocolatier
“From the first paragraph of Caterina Bonvicini’s The Year of Our
Love, I was transported to 1970s Italy. Instantly, I found myself
tangled in the intricate web of Valerio and Olivia’s decades-long
relationship. Part love story, part family saga, part historical
coming-of-age tale, it’s impossible to turn away from Valerio and
Olivia’s complicated bond as they navigate the boundaries of class,
family obligations, and the vagaries of their own hearts. A
beautiful, heart-wrenching tale.” —Laura Morelli, author of The
Night Portrait and The Gondola Maker
“A deeply moving and memorable novel that captures love’s intensity
and the losses that come with adulthood. In prose that is
restrained but pulses with emotion, Bonvicini reminds us that the
compromises we make in our youth can haunt us all our lives, and
the people we love are often, in equal measure, the source of our
distress and our only comfort.” —L. Annette Binder, author of The
Vanishing Sky
“The Year of Our Love is a triumphant love story about an
indomitable girl and a tenderhearted boy destined to be together
regardless of differences in class or circumstance. Get ready to
fall in love with Olivia and Valerio as you experience their lives
from childhood through adulthood in tumultuous modern Italy.
Vividly crafted, wry and witty, this novel captivated me from the
first page to the last.” —Suzanne Redfearn, bestselling author of
In an Instant
“A deeply moving, surprising love story that digs into the depths
of the human heart. Bonvicini expertly explores the blurred
boundaries between class and crime, showing us just how far
desperation and desire can push a person, and leaving us wondering
what it is, in the end, we are all really after.” —Serena Burdick,
author of The Girls with No Names and Find Me in Havana
“Caterina Bonvicini has created a vivid, engaging, and utterly
convincing world in these pages. Over the course of three
tumultuous decades, a man and woman who have loved each other since
childhood meet and part, circle each other’s lives, snatching
hidden moments, while the word ‘goodbye’ is forever on their
tongues. Few writers are able to capture so perceptively the
human tragicomic yearning after happiness. The Year of Our
Love is a book for these times: compassionate, funny, and dead-on
accurate.” —Eleanor Morse, author of White Dog Fell from the Sky
and Margreete’s Harbor
“Nothing better than this novel for understanding Italy in the last
half century. Everything is subtle, nothing is predictable...There
is humor, wit, delicacy, gravity...You have to read The Year of Our
Love, a powerful and poignant tragicomedy.” —Le Monde
“Bonvicini avoids every faux pas in this book, perfectly
calibrating structure and style.” —Corriere della Sera
“These pages are filled with freshness, naturalness, and
melancholy. The result is vivid and spirited.” —Le Figaro
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