Trick

An elderly, heavyset artist-illustrator agrees, at his daughter’s request, to look after his grandson while she and her husband attend a scientific conference. He is over seventy and has spent many years alone, devoting himself entirely to his work. Four-year-old grandson—rowdy, restless, and sharp-tongued—grows up like a little dictator. They’ve only seen each other twice, and now they’ll be forced to spend three whole days together. In the clash between the passing past and the coming future—full of skirmishes, temporary ceasefires, and not always funny pranks—life is reflected in a mirror of all its variety. In this short but emotionally intense story, Domenico Starnone continues his meticulous exploration of the phenomenon of family life—with compassion and irony that make the reader smile even when the subject is the dark sides of human nature.