Amazon description
Cribbing from the crime pages of Italian newspapers, Dacia Maraini creates in Darkness a memorable cast of characters for whom la dolce vita is merely a pipe dream. Among them is 12-year-old Viollca, an Albanian immigrant sold into prostitution by her parents, and Tano, a boy who brings charges of abuse against his father. Connecting the stories is Adele-Sofia, a tenderhearted police commissioner with nerves of steel. In spare, lyrical prose, Darkness illuminates Rome’s underbelly with courage and compassion. Maraini, winner of Italy's prestigious literary award, the Strega Prize, is one of the most important writers in Italian and feminist literature.