The Anniversary

Harrowing and compelling … A ferocious work of literature… the writing feels intensely personal – almost obscenely intimate – but glimmers with moments of recognition – Chris Power * Observer *
Like Albert Camus, Bajani is a poet of estrangement, ever focused on the condition that eats at the heart of modern man, perpetually pitting him against himself * TLS *
Haunting … On one level, this provocative novel constitutes a critique of patriarchal society and the Roman Catholic teaching that families must stay together even if it kills them. On another, it’s about the narrator’s use of fiction to reconstruct a contentious past. That the book succeeds on both levels is a function of the author’s freshness of perception and to the quality of his spare, limpid prose … A superb translation by Geoffrey Brock * Irish Times *
Bajani, one of Italy’s brightest literary stars, has written a novel that scorns the family as an institution and all who defend it … He combines description of domestic terror with socio-historical reflections on family blood feuds and Mafia-style patriarchies … He does not set out to shock, but the cinematic, horror-dazed images of The Anniversary linger in the mind * New Statesman *
The astonishing novel that’s taking Italy by storm … Stories about poisonous childhoods are not exactly new, but something about The Anniversary makes us feel that we’ve never heard one quite like this … A pleasure to read – Francine Prose * Daily Telegraph *
The tri­umph of this short, some­times heart­break­ing book is its patient atten­tion to human psy­cho­logy … Leth­ally judi­cious, The Anniversary lingers in the mind long after you close it * Spectator *
A fearless, intimate tale of unhappy parents — and the release of leaving them behind … Bajani carefully calibrates the tensions in the story, a balancing act that Geoffrey Brock skilfully retains in his English translation … as complex and contradictory as a family – John Self * Financial Times *
An ambitious tale of family rupture … In the narrator’s hands, the novel becomes a vehicle for retrospective discovery … The narrator’s interest in his mother feels genuine and the enterprise of giving this woman space in the book that she didn’t manage to claim in their home is generous and original – Lara Feigel * Guardian *
Extraordinary … The artistic wonder of this little masterpiece comes from its narrative technique * The Tablet *
Written with wisdom and coiled passion, The Anniversary dramatizes the struggles of a wife and a mother for freedom, autonomy and self-realization against the forces of repression. It is a brilliant portrait of a single soul and her interior life, but also of a society in flux, in the process of change, in the process also of staying the same. Bajani’s novel is intense, sharply imagined and fascinating – Colm Tóibín
The Anniversary is about patriarchy and family and the dream of self-determination. It is also about the possibilities of fiction and the novel as a form. Bajani is an extraordinary and uncompromising artist. Every page is written with lucidity, depth, honesty and forensic intelligence – Katie Kitamura
Both melancholic and provocative, but also perfectly written, this book is an important piece of literature about this curse we call family – Édouard Louis
A book that confronts the purity of fact, the tyranny of memory, and the totalitarianism of family like no other – Jhumpa Lahiri
With a voice both implacable and refined, Andrea Bajani plants a mine under the picture of a family. And he makes it explode in his truest book yet – Donatella Di Pietrantonio
A deeply affecting, important book. A sharp analysis and at the same time a tragic farewell to one’s own family – Jenny Erpenbeck
I was hooked from the first page. This is a brutal and addictive book, one that I will return to again and again. There is not a word out of place. I’m in awe of Andrea Bajani’s powers – Avni Doshi
I have read more than one Bajani novel. Each is completely unexpected, and each is somehow startling and able to take up residence in my life. This is what I long for in a novel. Bajani is a rare, rare find – Richard Ford
A merciless and beautiful book – Georgi Gospodinov
Sharp as a showdown, poignant as a farewell – Antonio Scurati
A scandalously calm book – Emmanuel Carrère

Andrea Bajani is the author of several award-winning novels including If You Kept a Record of Sins, Every Promise, and The Book of Homes, which have been translated into over twenty languages. The Anniversary was a huge best-seller in Italy and won the Strega Prize in 2025. Born in Rome, he now teaches creative writing at Rice University in Texas.

Geoffrey Brock is the author of three books of poems, the editor of The FSG Book of Twentieth-Century Italian Poetry, and the award-winning translator of numerous volumes from Italian.

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