Curzio Malaparte (Malaparte — the antonym of Bonaparte, literally "bad fate") is the pseudonym of Italian writer and journalist Kurt Erich Suckert (1898–1957), an unconventional classic of 20th-century Italian literature.

"The Skin" continues the depiction of the horrors of World War II, begun in the novel "Kaputt" (1944). While the first part of this unique duology focused on the Eastern Front, this story is set at the very end of the war in Naples, where American paratroopers have replaced the advancing Wehrmacht forces.

The novel was first published in Paris in 1949 in French. After the Italian edition in 1950, the author was accused of being unpatriotic and immoral, and "The Skin" was placed on the Vatican's index of prohibited books. Following the film adaptation by Liliana Cavani in 1981, in which Marcello Mastroianni played Malaparte, the author began to regain worldwide popularity.

You are holding the first complete Russian edition of one of the forgotten masterpieces of the 20th century.