The Cafe Of Mirrors

Katharina Pollaczek, a young woman of Slav origin, returns to the Italian border city of her youth to fight for the custody of her young son. The narrative charts Katharina's wanderings through the beautiful but decaying streets of this once-great city which is clearly recognisable as Trieste. Casual encounters highlight the pain and difficulty of communication, and her chance arrival at the scene of the murder of a young Serbian woman forces Katharina to contemplate the tragedy of ethnic tension and the crisis of conscience which characterizes an entire generation. This is the first translation into English of this Italian novel and the Introduction by Luisa Quartermaine includes background on the book as well as on Morandini, Trieste and the history of the region.