Mariapia Veladiano's first novel A Life Apart was published after winning the Premio Calvino, a prize for unpublished writers. It went on to be shortlisted for the Premio Stega, the most prestigious of Italian literary prizes. Cristina Viti is a translator and poet whose published work includes translations of Guillaume Apollinaire and Elsa Morante. Rebecca's parents were born to very different families. One wealthy, one all but destitute, they were united only by their striking mutual beauty. But their only child, Rebecca, is a daughter of startling ugliness. An irresistible modern fable that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt that they don't belong.