The First Ones

Who were the very first to bear a name? In The First Ones, Erri De Luca returns to the sacred texts to listen to the voices of our forebearers—Adam, Eve, and the figures who inaugurated humanity’s story. Each speaks in the first person, offering a condensed autobiography that bridges myth, faith, and memory.

From Adam, molded from earth and called “Earthman,” to prophets and matriarchs whose words and deeds shaped scripture, De Luca gathers their brief self-portraits into a collection both intimate and timeless. Some are well-known, others more obscure, yet all live on in the written canon, a form of existence more enduring than flesh. With poetic insight and humility, De Luca reflects on the one voice he could not assume—the divine “I” itself. For God remains the ultimate First, whose words created light and life, and whose presence believers echo in prayer.

The First Ones is at once literary meditation and spiritual exploration, giving ancient names a modern resonance and inviting readers to see the origins of storytelling, faith, and identity anew.

Rights sold:

France (Gallimard)
Spain (Seix Barral)