The Girl at the Door

August 1, 2019
In an intentional utopian community on an island, a couple deals with the consequences of a sexual accusation. "Having an affair with a student is never a good idea," ruminates the character known only as Him in Italian author Raimo's first novel to be published in the U.S. But, he continues, "it was statistically almost impossible not to." This professor's pregnant live-in girlfriend, known as Her, has been visited by a girl carrying a letter addressed to the man they have in common. It is an official accusation of repeated rape and sexual violence occurring two years ago, resulting in "TRAUMA no. 215." The girl explains that she didn't realize she was being abused at the time. The novel's mockery of this situation is embedded in a larger sendup of politically correct culture and values, concentrated in an imaginary island called Miden. Created after "the Crash" in the unnamed home country of the protagonists (hint: they eat tiramisu and spaghetti), "the Crash had brought whole countries to their knees, whereas Miden emerged from the deep waters with the splendor of a Venus." Miden is organized by Commissions, in which everyone must participate; both protagonists belong to Organic Pesticides. Diminutives and pet names have been outlawed to prevent women "from being harangued in an untoward or debasing way," and since dressing in layers is required by law, most women wear "handmade raw wool sweaters in Miden colors." When some audacious students print up white T-shirts with the slogan "WE'RE ALL PERPETRATORS," these are soon joined by "WE ARE ALL TREES," "WE ARE ALL OBLIQUE," and "WE ARE ALL CHAIRS." As the professor's friends and associates submit questionnaires to be used at his trial, the couple suffers under the strain. A flowered orange poncho given her by a chromotherapist friend doesn't help the pregnant woman, whose insomnia has become "almost ideological." The verdict looms. An unusual, witty, provocatively anti-doctrinaire fable.

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Starred review from August 5, 2019
In Raimo’s fanged, elliptical tale, her English-language debut, sexual politics roils a tranquil utopia. A philosophy professor and his pregnant girlfriend, both unnamed, are relative newcomers to the island of Miden, an egalitarian society whose “vital serenity” is in marked contrast to their unnamed homeland, which is reeling from a devastating financial collapse. When the professor’s former student and lover declares that she had been raped and “subjected to violence” during their affair, the Commission investigates the allegations to determine whether “the Perpetrator” will be allowed to remain within their community or whether the “violence nesting in could contaminate the social fabric.” The novel is told in alternating chapters from the professor’s and his girlfriend’s perspective as the Commission sends out questionnaires to their acquaintances. The professor, a charming narcissist, finds “a wonderful perversion” in being the center of the denigrating administrative process, while his isolated girlfriend reassesses the choices that have brought her from her moribund country to this besieged paradise. The novel deals in shifting sentiments: between love, revulsion, and desire; hostility toward and identification with the accuser; and between the couple’s ironic stance toward Miden’s stifling contentment and their intense yearning for inclusion in the community. A writer of wry and lucid prose, Raimo sculpts from these ambiguities a crystalline, powerful novel. Agent: Anna Stein, ICM Partners.

October 11, 2019

In her English-language debut, Italian author Raimo creates an uncomfortable situation for her readers to consider--the report of an act of sexual violence within a utopian society where the principles of morality are unyielding. The island of Miden is a beautiful, peaceful place, thanks to its natural beauty and to the Commission, which makes sure the area's inhabitants live in accordance with the Miden Dream. When a professor of philosophy is accused of rape, testimonies are collected for his trial. The verdict of the trial will determine whether the professor will be allowed to stay on the island. The story is told in alternating voices of Him (the professor) and Her (his girlfriend, who is pregnant with their first child). The accuser is a student with whom he had an affair two years ago, before the girlfriend came to live at Miden. Following the affair, the student came to believe that she was victimized by the older man, and she presses charges. VERDICT In a story reminiscent of The Scarlet Letter but with a more salacious vocabulary, emotional polarities abound while the accused expresses no remorse, only self-interest. Provocative reading for the brave. [See Prepub Alert, 2/4/19.]--Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L.

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September 15, 2019
Two immigrants?known only as the professor and his girlfriend?lead a quiet life on Miden, an island that separates itself from the world with its governing Commissions and mindful, upstanding citizens. The couple's lifestyle, however, is disturbed by one of the professor's former students, who accuses the professor of committing sexual violence against her. As testimonies are collected and the case builds against the professor, he and his pregnant girlfriend become the center of attention in their small community and are forced to examine themselves, each other, and their own relationship to consider what constitutes love and violence. Told alternately through his and her perspectives, Italian author Raimo's English-language debut digs deep into a web of sex, scandal, and perception. Through the anonymity of her characters, Raimo beautifully portrays the effect language itself has on creating reality, and how labels can create doubt about the people and situations we think we know. In an age when the scandals of powerful and political figures are being exposed, this is both timely and merciless in its provocative presentation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)