The Rules of Shangai

A chance encounter between an elderly camper and a young Romani girl fleeing an arranged marriage sparks a profound and lasting connection that transcends time and distance.

In the midst of a campsite in northern Italy, close to the Slovenian border, an aging watchmaker offers refuge from the cold to a young woman, running away from an arranged marriage, and therefore subject to repercussions.  As the night turns to dawn, the two strangers share a tent and their late-night conversation turns to darker thoughts of fate, destiny, and the mysteries of life: she, a bear trainer and free spirit, who believes in the signs of the universe; he, a solitary soul who views the world as a vast, chaotic puzzle, like the  game of Shanghai where wooden sticks are assigned a value. Together, they navigate a shared space where words become vessels of wisdom and reflect a vision of existence untamed by convention. Then, unexpectedly, both their lives are changed forever by a single shift that leads them toward a destiny that neither could have predicted.

This poignant story by Erri De Luca weaves a tapestry of deep connection and subtle transformation. Each moment of their unexpected connection reveals a deeper layer of understanding in which even the subtlest move can alter the course of events.

“Some see life as a river, another as a desert, or a chess game against death. I see it as a solitary game of pick-up sticks.”

Rights sold
Dutch (Het Moet)
France (Gallimard)
Greece (Kelefthos)
Spain (Seix Barral/Bromera)