Viola Di Grado (All reviews)
- May 8 2016
Hollow Heart
— Cleaver Magazine - Dec 22 2015
Nota Benes
— World Literature Today - Dec 15 2015
HOLLOW HEART BY VIOLA DI GRADO
— The Quarterly Conversation - Sep 29 2015
Generation rent
— The Times Literary Supplement - Sep 9 2015
“Di Grado’s writing is so lovely at times it makes you ache.”
— BookSexy Review - Sep 1 2015
“Hollow Heart is a ruthless and comical meditation on the subject of death in the twenty-first century by one of Italy's most experimental and fearless new voices.”
— Bookslut - Aug 10 2015
"Viola Di Grado’s charming prose romps through chthonic worlds of nibbling insects, ammoniac seepage and shattering depression, using language that is both glib and scrumptious."
— Music & Literature - Jul 22 2015
"In Hollow Heart, Di Grado elegantly and playfully thematizes the emptiness of unquestioned vessels of meaning (which is to say, words) with the story of a girl who has taken her own life before she has even really lived it."
— L.A. Review of Books - Jul 15 2015
"A selection of first sentences from new books."
— San Francisco Chronicle - Jul 1 2015
M.A. Orthofer at The Complete Review: "Odd, and certainly bleak, Hollow Heart might beat too empty for many readers, but Di Grado shows enough skill here to make it worth a look."
— The Complete Review - Jun 25 2015
"Hollow Heart [. . .] is just as strongly written as its predecessor, taking the black, manic tone of the earlier book and pushing it into a new territory – beyond the grave."
— Tony’s Reading List - Jun 15 2015
70% ACRYLIC 30% WOOL and THE HOLLOW HEART recommended reading!
— Times Literary Supplement - Jun 14 2015
"There is also an awful, chilling moment towards the end of the novel when you think something truly shocking and unforgivable is about to happen."
— Intense Sensations - Jun 11 2015
"In alternately clinical and whimsical language, with fresh metaphors that have survived the translation from Italian by Antony Shugaar admirably, di Grado examines the secret sadness passed down through families."
— WeLoveThisBook.com - Jun 6 2015
"The writing is pristine. Each sentence lures us further into the flies and blood-filled spirals of Di Grado’s dreamworld and, most importantly, we are willing to follow her.”
— The Independent - Dec 31 2013
Follow the Thread: 70% Acrylic 30% Wool Chosen as one of the Top 12 Books Read in 2013 - Aug 15 2013
Tony's Reading List: "A wonderfully bizarre novel." - Mar 29 2013
Times Literary Supplement: "[Di Grado's] black comedy, pungent metaphors and controlled ambiguity announce the arrival of a considerable talent." - Mar 14 2013
Lizzy's Literary Life: "A worthy winner of Italy’s Campiello First Novel Prize." - Mar 4 2013
The Quarterly Conversation: "Viola di Grado is undoubtedly a true creator." - Jan 28 2013
Julian Gallo: "Di Grado is most definitely an author to expect a lot of great things from." - Jan 18 2013
Financial Times: "This offbeat novel is rather more sophisticated than it first appears, and can be read as a subtle meditation on language and its failures." - Jan 14 2013
Follow the Thread: "Di Grado paints an incisive portrait of a character caught between holding on and letting go, unsure which is worse." - Jan 10 2013
We Love This Book: "A scarily impressive debut." - Jan 8 2013
Intense Sensations: "A beautiful novel riddled with meanings." - Dec 11 2012
Alex in Leeds: "Watch out for Viola Di Grado." - Dec 11 2012
Archetype Me: "Viola di Grado is making waves with her stateside debut." - Dec 4 2012
Boston Bibliophile: "It's so incredibly dark."