Published 7th May 2026 by Apollo.
From the cover of the book:
Sometimes love isn't where you belong
In a mountain village in the Abruzzo region of Italy, Gino, a troubled young man, realises that his childhood sweetheart Franca can give his life the happiness and stability he needs. They seem made for each other, and move to a remote house in the countryside - but there is something in Franca's past that haunts Gino.
Descending into pathological jealousy and resentment towards a married man who had been Franca's lover, Gino is unable to stop himself imagining the worst, and embarks on a violent path that has catastrophic consequences.
Shifting between tenderness and paranoia, beauty and tragedy, this is an extraordinary novel from one of the UK's most unpredictable and celebrated writers.
***********
Gino, is a young man with a troubled past, which almost everyone in his mountain village in Abruzzo, Italy, is familiar with. He becomes convinced that the only person who can give him the happiness he needs is Franca, the girl he has not seen since his childhood - the one who told him at nine years old that they would marry. Reconnecting with Franca seems like the most natural thing in the world, and they fall into a romance, certain they are destined for each other.
They settle into married life in a remote farmhouse, and Franca quickly falls pregnant. This should be the happiest time of their lives, but Gino is struggling with the recent death of his father, and when their son is born he cannot comprehend how such a beautiful, magnetic child as Elio could possibly be his. Unable to reconcile himself to fatherhood, dark thoughts begin to rise in Gino's mind, fuelled by suspicion that Franca's former married lover is the father of their child... and his jealously leads him into violence.
This powerful novel begins, and ends, with chapters written from the perspective of Harry, a Brit who purchased a holiday home in Abruzzo when Gino was a child, and who had been friends with his father. In between, the story ebbs and flows through Gino's eyes, as he descends from happiness into destructive acts sparked by his obsession with Franca's ex lover. The structure works really well by immersing you in an almost stream of consciousness mental breakdown of a young man shaped by the difficult relationship he has with his own father, sandwiched between a prophetic prologue and viscerally affecting epilogue through the eyes of an outsider.
This is the kind of novel that slowly gets its claws into you. I gradually found myself completely immersed in Gino's transformation from hopeful lover to someone tortured by his inner thoughts. It is an uncomfortable experience being inside his head as he careers into a breakdown, but it is impossible to look away.
The title captures the tone of this novel beautifully, but there are moments of tenderness and friendship woven into the story that really show Thomson's skill in balancing light and shade - even if human frailty is the overwhelming theme. I especially admired the way his male characters are portrayed, with their inability to express emotion in a healthy way - though do not expect to find the same insight in his female characters, even Franca, who we only ever see through the gaze of Gino or Harry.
There is a fascinating thread of speculative wonder that runs through the novel in respect of Gino and Franca's child, with the occasional clever use of symbolism. Thomson has the ability to evoke a tangible feeling of place in this little corner of Italy that is astonishingly atmospheric too.
I was not sure what to expect of this book, but it has left with great respect for a writer (apparently one of David Bowie's favourite authors) who has not previously been on my radar. This one will stay with me for a long time.
Dark is the Morning is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a proof of this book.
About the author:
Rupert Thomson is the author of eight highly acclaimed novels, of which Air and Fire and The Insult were shortlisted for the Writer's Guild Fiction Prize and the Guardian Fiction Prize respectively.
His most recent novel, Death of a Murderer, was shortlisted for the 2008 Costa Novel Award. His memoir This Party's Got to Stop was published in 2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment