Limbo (61 page)

 

TRANSLATOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people helped me bring Melania Mazzucco's novel to life in English; without them this project would have remained in its own form of limbo.

Giovanni Marizza, Lieutenant General, Italian Mountain Troops, and former Deputy Commander of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq, indefatigably explained Italian and coalition military hierarchies, equipment, and terminology.

George H. Calhoun, Captain, Infantry, U.S. Army, read several chapters of the manuscript, offering precisions and editorial advice that would make his mother proud.

Daniel Jewiss, former Master Sergeant in the CT Army National Guard, provided military expertise and brotherly encouragement.

Brendan Kelley, Team Leader, Third Battalion, Seventy-fifth Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army, shared precious military details and lingo from his tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Deborah Miller coached me through Traian's soccer match.

Gail Jewiss, R.N., guided me through Manuela's operations.

Dr. Giancarlo Di Maggio counseled me on psychological terms.

Patricia Caprotti, Rita Fabbrizio, and Stefano Spadoni unflaggingly explicated the intricacies of Melania's prose.

Miranda Popkey, my creative and ever-cheerful editor, refined the translation at every step.

My warmest thanks for their generosity, meticulousness, and patience.

 

ALSO BY MELANIA G. MAZZUCCO

Vita

 

A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR

Melania G. Mazzucco has written nine novels, including
Vita
(FSG, 2005), which was awarded the prestigious Strega Prize and named a
New York Times Book Review
Editors' Choice. For
Limbo
, she was awarded the Premio Elsa Morante and the Premio Bottari Lattes Grinzane. Her many other honors include the 2011 Premio Letterario Viareggio-Tobino (which she received as writer of the year), the 2011 Premio Vittorio De Sica for literature, and the 2013 Premio Ignazio Silone. She lives in Rome.

 

Virginia Jewiss received her Ph.D. in Italian literature from Yale University, where she is a lecturer in the humanities. Her translations include Roberto Saviano's
Gomorrah
(FSG, 2007) and screenplays by Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, and Gabriele Salvatores. She is the translator of Melania G. Mazzucco's novel
Vita
.

 

 

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

18 West 18th Street, New York 10011

Copyright © 2012 by Melania G. Mazzucco

Translation copyright © 2014 by Virginia Jewiss

All rights reserved

Originally published in Italian in 2012 by Giulio Einaudi Editore, s.p.a., Italy

English translation published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

First American edition, 2014

 

eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected]

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mazzucco, Melania G., 1966–

    [Limbo. English]

    Limbo / Melania G. Mazzucco ; translated from the Italian by Virginia Jewiss. — First American edition.

        pages    cm

    ISBN 978-0-374-19198-6 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-0-374-70990-7 (ebook)

    1.  Women veterans—Italy—Fiction.   2.  Afghan War, 2001—Participation, Italian—Fiction.   3.  Psychic trauma—Fiction.   I.  Jewiss, Virginia, translator.   II.  Title.

    PQ4873.A98 L5613 2014

    853'.914—dc23

2014016985

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