Turin, the late 1970s. Under the hundred-year-old steel roof of the market, Gino practices the art of butchery with precision and skill. He is a master of his craft, moving in time with the frantic dance of the stalls, until a momentary lapse turns a blade towards his thumb.
With this slight, physical slip, a different kind of severance begins. As a mysterious exhaustion takes root, Gino is forced from the noise of the stalls to the clinical silence of a Parisian oncology institute.
Invernale is a stark, raw meditation on the fragile boundary between the body that works and the body that fails. Dario Voltolini's minimalist masterpiece is an act of witness. A tribute that meticulously captures a father, his discipline and generosity, his love of football and the pain of a son.
"Invernale is an extraordinarily powerful novel — one that knocks you to the ground even as it lifts you up."
Sandro Veronesi
"A novel written in a state of grace."
Corriere della Sera
Finalist — Premio Strega 2024
About the author
Dario Voltolini (Turin, 1959) is the author of short stories, novels, radio dramas, song lyrics and librettos for the theatre. He lives in Turin, where he graduated in Philosophy of Language. His debut, Una intuizione metropolitana (1990) was followed by a body of work alternating short fiction and novels, including Primaverile (2001), Autunnale (2015), Il Giardino degli Aranci (2022) and Dagli Undici metri (2025). Invernale (2024) was a finalist for the Strega Prize and the winner of several awards, including the Premio Wondy and Premio Bergamo. He has taught at the Holden Academy and served as its academic director, and is currently the curator of the Italian fiction series Pennisole for Hopefulmonster.