“Ties” by Domenico Starnone (translated by Jhumpa Lahiri)

This short novel was translated from the Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is the story of a dysfunctional family, told by three narrators. The story begins with the revelation of an affair that ruins a marriage and a family. The superficial “tie” in the story is the unusual way the father has taught his son to tie his shoelaces. The subconscious ties that run throughout the book, however, are the ties that bond and break a family- the promises that you make and sometimes fail to keep when you start on the project of creating a family unit. The novel deals with conjugal love, parental love, filial love, and sibling love. Scars and resentments build, old secrets surface, and revenge is sought and found. The story is tightly written. You can feel the pain and emotion building as more and more is revealed. The author is supposedly the husband of Elena Ferrante. Although it takes place in Naples and Rome, it is more a story of the human condition than a distinctly Italian tale. It a story of love lost, sacrifices made, and family bonds that can be strained, but never broken, for better or for worse.