The Legend of 1900

Alessandro Baricco is one of the most prominent European authors of the 21st century, the creator of the globally famous bestsellers “Silk” and “Ocean Sea,” and the recipient of numerous prestigious literary awards. His novella “1900. The Legend of the Pianist” has undergone countless reprints, been translated into dozens of languages, and served as the basis for the famous film adaptation by Giuseppe Tornatore, “The Legend of the Pianist,” in which Tim Roth played the lead role.

Novecento — 1900 — is not merely a number marking a year. That is what they call the gifted self-taught pianist who was born directly aboard an ocean liner. He has no papers, no citizenship, and no family—only a name given to him by the stoker who found the infant.

1900 never went ashore and never set foot on land. In storms and in calm alike, he lives at the keys, never parting with music. This book is a dramatic monologue, filled with sound, salty wind, and the breathing of the ocean. And it seems as though God Himself leads the universe, sifting through human destinies the way one might run fingers across the keys of an enormous grand piano.