Barry Unsworth

After Hannibal

From the author of Sacred Hunger and Morality Play, "a vivid, sinuous, profound, and entirely beguiling venture."—Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times

Set in the beautiful landscape and rich history of Umbria, Italy, Booker Prize-winning author Barry Unsworth has written a witty and illuminating work of contemporary manners and morals. The region where Hannibal defeated the Romans is now prey to a different type of invasion: outsiders buying villas with innocent and not so innocent dreams. Among those clustered along one hillside road are the Greens, a retired American couple seeking serenity; the Chapmans, whose dispute over a wall escalates into a feud of operatic proportions; and Fabio and Arturo, a gay couple who, searching for peace and self-sufficiency, find treachery instead. Add to this mix a wily and corrupt British "building expert," and a lawyer who practices subterfuge and plans his client's actions like military strategy, and you have a sharp, entertaining, and satisfyingly bittersweet work.

"A deliciously keen observation of strangers in a strange land."—Miranda Schwartz, Chicago Tribune

"Brilliant . . . exquisitely precise in its analysis of evil twisting its way through ordinary lives."—Claire Hopley, Boston Globe