“Poignant and moving… Antonio’s catalog of intimate experiences, whether painful, pleasurable, or bitter-sweet, make for an enchanting coming-of-age tale.” Publishers Weekly

“Enlightening . . . [an] absorbing novel of filial bonding.” Booklist

“Here those dark nights arrive with shimmering, unforced beauty, filling the pages with jagged moonlight like the finest neorealist film.” Kirkus Reviews

“Carofiglio is a master of voice and atmosphere, which gives this elegiac novel its satisfying and emotional punch.” Christopher Castellani

“A compelling, compact story…Gianrico Carofiglio’s Three O’Clock in the Morning is profound in its simple delivery.” New York Journal of Books

“Carofiglio is a champion of clarity in language, and his own prose, in both fiction and non-fiction, is direct, lim- pid, and unambiguous.” Howard Curtis, translator of Three O’Clock in the Morning

“Lucid and touching.” la Repubblica

“There is not a word to add, a word to take away. ” La Lettura – Corriere della Sera

“The rare, unusual, sometimes disconcerting relationship between a father and a son” L’Obs

“This book could have been three times as long and still not be boring for a second.” Stern

A father and son.
The story of an encounter that will change them forever.
A moving novel of discovery and coming of age.

Antonio is on the brink of adulthood, still figuring out who he is and who he wants to be. His father, once a brilliant mathematician, hasn’t figured much in his son’s life since his divorce from Antonio’s mother. But then a diagnosis of epilepsy and hope for a cure take father and son to Marseilles, a city that melds French old-world charm and modern-day bohemia. There, they find themselves in unexpected circumstances, spending two days and two nights together without sleep, walking the streets.

As strained conversation turns to late-night, caffeine-and alcohol-imbued adventures with new and fascinating men and women they meet, the cit — and their relationship — springs to life. Antonio and his father talk about talent, truth, illusions, love, sex, and death, and find themselves unwittingly growing closer than ever before.

A moving masterwork from one of Italy’s most beloved contemporary writers, Three O’Clock in the Morning is a spellbinding journey readers won’t soon forget.

Elegant, warm, and tender, Three O’Clock in the Morning is an unforgettable coming-of-age story about a father and son, dreams and regret, and, most of all, love.

“And Dad played a solo. I would never have admitted it to myself, but I was really proud of him and wished I could tell everyone near me that the tall, thin, elegant-looking man sitting at the piano, looking much younger than his fifty-one years, was my father.
When he finished, summing up the meaning of what he had played in two conclusive, melancholy scales, there was a burst of friendly applause. And I also applauded and kept doing so until I was sure he had seen me, because I was starting to realize that there are such things as misunder- standings and I didn’t want there to be any at that moment.”

Read an excerpt on Lit Hub here