Emma's TOP 5 in 2025 | The Little I Knew - Chiara Valerio

Emma says... In a small, coastal, Italian town, a woman dies in her bath. A friend, the town lawyer, doesn't believe it was an accident. And so begins a line of enquiry into how Vittoria died that quickly reveals how little Lea actually knew of how she lived. This novel is a wonderful diarama and critique of small towns and close communities. Both fabulously Italian and beautifully universal in the questions it asks about how well we can really know each other and, ultimately, ourselves. 

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In Scauri, an end of the line seaside town forty miles or so from Rome, Vittoria dies unexpectedly in her bath. Whilst the townsfolk meet the event with sad but respectful southern Italian silence, Lea, the town lawyer, wants to investigate. Who was Vittoria, what were her secrets, why had she mysteriously arrived in Scauri thirty years earlier? And was her relationship with Lea all that it seemed?In this unforgettable portrait of a small town and the women who live there, reverberations from the past catch up with present.

Through the silences, Vittoria’s story is revealed and everything - passions, emotions, and relationships - changes forever. Novelist, editor, critic, cultural commentator and mathematician Chiara Valerio is a sensation in Italy and The Little I Knew is a huge bestseller.