Contemporary fiction
Having been widowed after thirty years of marriage, the protagonist opens the Grindr app and discovers that he embodies one of the most sought-after ‘types’ in the gay world: the ‘daddy’ – that is, the experienced, protective man who is a good listener, and who stirs up sweet fantasies of submission in the young man, the ‘puppy’. In an exhilarating encounter, he meets Adrians in Oxford and, after returning to Milan, receives constant signs of interest from him. Nothing to write home about: meaningless texts, gym selfies, comments on the weather. And yet. Convinced that a relationship has blossomed between them, our ‘daddy’ returns to Oxford. It’s a shame that, at this point, the ‘puppy’ turns out to be a cold-hearted narcissist. All that remains is to embark on new adventures. But now these encounters are irrevocably tinged with disappointment, dragging along all the unresolved issues of the past: childhood insecurities, family conflicts, the pains of adolescence. The ghost of his own father—his biological father—returns, forcing the daddy, outside the confines of Grindr, to reconcile within himself the various conflicts of an endless emotional journey. And what of Adrians? He’s still there. *Daddy* tells a love story – or rather, the story of an obsession – which, through the ambiguous pleasures of the flesh, seeks the path to happiness. Introspective, lucid and yet playful, Gardini’s writing probes the mysterious depths where love hides and where, nevertheless, it demands to express itself more freely, in a relentless plea.
Source: synopsis: Mondadori.it
Publication date: 12 February 2026
Nicola Gardini (Petacciato, 1965) is a writer, Latin scholar, academic and professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford. An eclectic intellectual and chairman of the Salani publishing house, he is known to the general public for successful essays such as *Viva il latino*. His fiction delicately explores bonds, memory and queer love – central themes in the memoir *Nicolas* (dedicated to the mourning of his husband) and in his recent novel *Daddy* (Mondadori, 2026). Here, with clarity and irony, he explores the reawakening of desire and the identity of a mature man attracted to younger partners. His writing combines classical rigour with a profound exploration of the human psyche and the free forms of contemporary affection.
