The Girl at the Door

Book excerpt: An accusation of rape upsets a utopian island community in this “provocative, fiercely intelligent” Italian novel (Daily Mail, UK). When “The Crash” brough entire nations to their knees, the island society of Miden—a place dedicated to fairness and equality—rose like a phoenix from the wreckage. While on vacation in this oasis, a seemingly aimless woman meets an attractive man, and moves to the island to start a new life with him. Now six months pregnant, the woman is just beginning to feel comfortable in her lover’s space. But all that changes when a girl arrives to accuse the man of rape. Slight and pretty, the girl discloses a drawn out and violent affair she’s had with her professor, the father of the woman’s child. In alternating perspectives, the professor and his girlfriend reflect upon their own lives, each other, and their interloper. As their idyllic society grapples with the scandal, boundaries blur and alliances shift as reputation, truth, and self-preservation threaten to upend their relationship. Provocative and unnerving, The Girl at the Door explores the bureaucracy of a scandal, and the thin line between lust and possession.