New Vessel Press

"Captivating ... The novel flies by with gentle humor, but it also poses complex questions about the meaning of art and sexuality, and offers an elegiac look at late middle age ... Irresistible, and the story’s fundamental kindness sets it apart." ?Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Piero Chiara s novel is at once a murder mystery and a lyrical study of desire, greed, and deception. The ending is simply stunning." André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name "I consider myself to be the son of Piero Chiara ... I was his devoted reader. I've always loved storytellers and Chiara had great powers of seduction." Andrea Camilleri, author of The Shape of Water

An Israeli professor travels to an imaginary West African nation to trace a slave-trading ancestor, only to be imprisoned under a new law barring successive generations from profiting off the proceeds of slavery. But before departing from Tel Aviv, the protagonist falls in love with Lucile, a mysterious African migrant worker who cleans his house.

This stunning novel illuminates the chasm between civilization and barbarism by spotlighting a little-known figure devoted to knowledge and the power of artistic creation.