Wickedly dark with a mystical edge, this story of an Italian love affair gone bad captures the irresistible pull of toxic relationshipsâfrom the acclaimed author of Carnality.
A woman arrives in Florence, overwhelmed by the strange, warm city so different from her home. Amidst the Renaissance architecture and amorous couples, she finds an unexpected love of her own. With his dark, ugly looks, people might stop and stare, wondering what someone like her was doing with someone like him. But heâs the Mickey to her Minnie, and she can fix himâthey can fix each other. She feels bound to him, body and soul.
Itâs not long before the lying starts. Other women have begun to notice him, and she spirals into paranoia. Soon theyâre both cheating and lashing out, and she becomes more and more convinced heâs not merely a violent man: thereâs a demon inside him, and inside her too. Their grip on each other is so strong, it might be impossible to break, even after she puts an ocean between them, following another man to New Orleans.
Heady, unsettling, and shockingly funny with its dead-on descriptions of codependent and abusive relationships, The Devilâs Grip takes us on a breathless journey with the shadow selves we canât escape.
