Author:Daniel Del Giudice
Take-off: almost a ton of inert matter transformed by the pilot as it lifts off the runway into a thing of spirit and beauty.
Take-off: lifting one's shadow off the earth, entering a new element where movement is the very condition for existence, for, as the author observes, "in life, to choose the wrong wife or the wrong lift is conventionally viewed as being matters of varying gravity, but in piloting an aircraft an act of petty oversight, due to the obvious but decisive fact that in flight there can be no stopping, could be fatal."
Whether he is reliving his first solo flight or a frightening experience as he pilots a light aircraft through storm clouds, his training and his instincts constantly at odds, or the mysterious loss of an airliner on an internal flight, or the brief, adrenaline-charged lives of Italian torpedo-bombers in World War Two, Del Giudice focuses on the edge of experience in which a person learns to take nothing, but nothing, for granted.
While Take-off has much of the charm, humour and poetry to be found in the best of Saint-Exupéry (whose last flight is evoked in the final chapter), it will also remind the reader of Robert Pirsig's classic Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance by its close focus on the question of how the mind approaches problem-solving.
Winner of the Bagutta, Campiello and International Flaiano Prizes.
Among the technical exchanges with the control tower and references to cockpit instruments mysterious to the layman, or the description of the ever-changing cloud barrier, his assured, luminous writing is that of a man who has his destiny in his own hands and knows where to make his touch-down.
—— Cesare Segre, Corriere della SeraWriting with such precision of what there is on board an aircraft and how we perceive it, he has aimed to reduce life to a minimum, the better to explore our way of understanding it.
—— EpocaOriginal characters and flinty dialogue . . . [a] darkly stylish tale of human behaviour
—— The Sunday TimesFunny, engaging and ultimately heart-breaking . . . an impressive portrayal of motherhood and sacrifice.
—— Irish IndependentA colourful, fast-paced read
—— Image, Book of the MonthA twisted family saga lodged in John Cheever and Wes Anderson
—— Vogue, USAA chronicler of American suburban sadness to rival the likes of John Cheever and Richard Yates
—— The ExpressAccomplished, kind-hearted and subtle . . . a tribute to Jane Austen's persuasion
—— Vanora Bennett , The TimesMakes for interesting reading.
—— Kathy Stevenson , Daily MailAn ambitious, almost impossibly wide-ranging book... Where the novel is most original is in tone. If a good writer is someone who matches style to subject, this novel is very prosing indeed.
—— Andrew Marszal , Daily TelegraphHunters in the Snow is a very assured assemblage held together by the questions of narrative, integration, and preservation which run through it.
—— Words of MercuryAmbitious debut novel.
—— Adam Thorpe , GuardianLike history itself, the meaning may remain doubtful; but we relish captivating stories.
—— iFine and wonderfully original debut novel.
—— David Evans , Financial TimesA hauntingly brilliant first novel about how we respond to the past... I envied, as well as admired, this author's literary command. A star is born.
—— A.N. Wilson , Church TimesOne of the year’s most impressive first novels…Hunters in the Snow’s ambition, scope and assurance…are thrilling and admirable, and make for a very fine book indeed.
—— Upcoming (Web)
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