Books

Italy in 2025 is on the brink of collapse: borders are closed, banks withhold money, armed gangs of drug-fuelled youths roam the countryside.

Leonardo was a well-known writer and academic before a sex scandal ended his marriage and career. He takes refuge in his remote vineyard home, but nowhere is safe with  society at the tipping point of anarchy. His ex-wife entrusts him with his daughter, Lucia, and another child by her second marriage.

But when their home is ransacked, they see no choice but to try to cross to France. Sleeping rough and scavenging as best they can, they face horror and violence unlike any they have encountered before. Leonardo will come to understand that if he is to bring the children to safety he must confront evil head on and, in doing so, shed every trace of his former self.

Praise for L’uomo verticale

‘A complex and compelling investigation of the behaviour of survival.’
– Times Literary Supplement

‘The dystopic picture it paints is dreadfully plausible – a eurozone nightmare brought to life on the page.’
– James Lovegrove, Financial Times 

‘Davide Longo is the most talented Italian novelist of his generation.’
– GQ (Italy)

‘The Last Man Standing is set to be one of best books of the year.’
– Damien Walter, SFX

‘The story might sound familiar, if it weren’t for the fact that Davide Longo has written it better than anyone else.’
– Vanity Fair (Italy)