Baldassare’s Journey

“This woman did not satisfy the carnal desires of the traveler in my soul, but rather softened my initial ordeal. I was born a stranger, I have lived a stranger, and I will die a stranger, my estrangement becoming greater, and my vanity prevents me from mentioning the hostility, the insults, the resentment, and the suffering. But the looks and the gestures are not hidden from me. The embrace of some women looms like exile, and the embrace of others recalls the motherland.”
In 1665, the hero of this novel, Baldassare Embriaco, a southern Levantine antiques dealer, sets out in search of a book that might bring salvation to a lost world. He is also undoubtedly seeking, during his travels, to discover the meaning of his life. During his voyage, Baldassare will cross scattered countries and burning cities, encountering expectant peoples. He will encounter fear, deception, disappointment, and, in a moment of despair, love.