New York University's Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, in conjunction with the City of Rome, has awarded the 2008 Zerilli-Marimò / City of Rome Literary Prize to Milena Agus for her novel Mal di Pietre, a love story set in Sardinia after the Second World War. The narrator recounts the life and marriage of her grandmother, including her affair with il Reduce, whom she meets in a health spa which both of them frequent to cure their kidney stones (mal di pietre). Some commentators have referred to the book as "la Bovary sarda."
One of the goals of the award is to promote Italian fiction abroad and to bring Italian authors and publishers into direct contact with an American and international audience.
