Five Great Books set in NORTHERN ITALY
Auto-journalism set around EUROPE and NYC
26th January 2026
Killing The Nerve by Anna Pazos, auto-journalism set around Europe and NYC.
TR: Laura McGoughlin and Charlotte Coombe
A book that is described as auto-journalism is where the author is writing about their own experience, so in many ways it comes across as a memoir. In Killing The Nerve the style is snappy and descriptive, written with journalistic flair.
The book opens in Thessaloniki and describes how the author came to reside in this city, this “elusive treasure”, nevertheless also observing that “There isn’t much to do, apart from partying and protesting and simply existing as the hours drift by. The monotony is only broken once a year by a documentary film festival” .
She takes the reader on a tour of the people and places as she immerses herself in the city. Meet the tomb-collecting pharmacist, her flatmates and lovers.
Spain and Turkey then come under scrutiny, as she travels and records her experiences as a professional journalist. Join her and Guillermo, who proves to be an unreliable lover, on a boat to Guadalupe. Thence to New York featuring Katz’s Deli where Eastern European Jews assembled in the early 20th Century, and which now proves a real lure for tourists. New York, she says, is “..the ideal setting for escape. Everything about it guarantees anonymity and the pleasing absence of repercussions.” There she hooks up with a young man who proves to be a real character.
She spends quite some time in the city and generally shares aspects that sometimes hover on the brink of self-indulgence but is pulled back by the excellent writing. Elements – such as the detailed descriptions of an outing to a Berlin-style club, hanging out in Tompkins Square Park and negotiating the city – all lend a deeper understanding of the metropolis and provide a terrific sense of place. And then it’s back to Barcelona before Covid becomes entrenched around the world.
In many ways this is a reportage of a young woman getting to grips with the world. The narrative is peppered with journal entries and acute observations as she moves through the months and years, reflecting on her family’s history her ambitions and her place in life,.
The literary competency and translation are at the top of their game, sharp and colourful with a really good locational backdrop.
NB: the covers of the Foundry Editions have been designed to catch the visual heritage of the Mediterranean. This one is inspired by the main gate in Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Milà in Barcelona. It was designed by Hélène Marchal.
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