Game damage

A boy plays absentmindedly by the pond in the woods - and in the midst of this idyll, a gunshot rings out somewhere. This opening sets the stage for Maurizio Pinarello's multifaceted novel. What initially appears to be the beginning of a crime story soon reveals itself as an intriguing journey through a microcosm populated by somewhat quirky residents of a border town by the river. Told from shifting perspectives and lightly exaggerated into the absurd, their everyday lives unfold, filled with encounters, disruptions, and fantasies: an editor struggles with writer's block, an environmentalist battles invasive plants. A triathlete dreams of an attractive chat partner, a dropout envisions a life in the wilderness, and a commuter stuck in traffic longs for a clear road. Everything seems normal and orderly. Yet, within this harmony, dissonant notes emerge: feelings of vulnerability, underlying fear, and aggression.