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The Separation
In an effort to help an old friend through the breakup of his marriage, psychotherapist Marcus Llewellyn arrives in Germany to find up-and-coming prizefighter Charlie Pronovella in a state of such deep depression, he takes his old friend on as a client. But soon Marcus's faith in his own abilities to help Charlie comes into question when Charlie's behavior grows increasingly bizarre. Is Charlie suffering from a nervous breakdown, or are otherworldly forces at work?
50 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Ronald Malfi
74 books3,798 followersRonald Malfi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of many novels and novellas in the horror, mystery, and thriller genres. In 2011, his novel, Floating Staircase, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for best novel by the Horror Writers Association, and also won a gold IPPY award. In 2024, he was presented with the prestigious William G. Wilson Award for Adult Fiction by the Maryland Library Association. Perhaps his most well-received novel, Come with Me (2021), about a man who learns a dark secret about his wife after she's killed, has received stellar reviews, including a starred review from BookPage, and Publishers Weekly has said, "Malfi impresses in this taut, supernaturally tinged mystery... and sticks the landing with a powerful denouement. There’s plenty here to enjoy."
His most recent novels include Senseless (2025) and Small Town Horror (2024), both of which received favorable reviews and saw Malfi stretch his authorial voice.
Come with Me (2021) and Black Mouth (2022), tackle themes of grief and loss, and of the effects of childhood trauma and alcoholism, respectively. Both books have been critically praised, with Publishers Weekly calling Black Mouth a "standout" book of the year. These novels were followed by Ghostwritten (2022), a collection of four subtly-linked novellas about haunted books and the power of the written word. Ghostwritten received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called the book a "wonderfully meta collection...vibrantly imagined," and that "Malfi makes reading about the perils of reading a terrifying delight."
Among his most popular works is December Park, a coming-of-age thriller set in the '90s, wherein five teenage boys take up the hunt for a child murderer in their hometown of Harting Farms, Maryland. In interviews, Malfi has expressed that this is his most autobiographical book to date. In 2015, this novel was awarded the Beverly Hills International Book Award for best suspense novel. It has been optioned several times for film.
Bone White (2017), about a man searching for his lost twin brother in a haunted Alaskan mining town, was touted as "an elegant, twisted, gripping slow-burn of a novel that burrows under the skin and nestles deep," by RT Book Reviews, and has also been optioned for television by Fox21/Disney and Amazon Studios.
His novels Little Girls (2015) and The Night Parade (2016) explore broken families forced to endure horrific and extraordinary circumstances, which has become the hallmark for Malfi's brand of intimate, lyrical horror fiction.
His earlier works, such as Via Dolorosa (2007) and Passenger (2008) explored characters with lost or confused identities, wherein Malfi experimented with the ultimate unreliable narrators. He maintained this trend in his award-winning novel, Floating Staircase (2011), which the author has suggested contains "multiple endings for the astute reader."
His more "monstery" novels, such as Snow (2010) and The Narrows (2012) still resonate with his inimitable brand of literary cadence and focus on character and story over plot. Both books were highly regarded by fans and reviewers in the genre.
A bit of a departure, Malfi published the crime drama Shamrock Alley in 2009, based on the true exploits of his own father, a former Secret Service agent. The book was optioned several times for film.
Ronald Malfi was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977, the eldest of four children, and eventually relocated to Maryland, where he currently resides along the Chesapeake Bay.
When he's not writing, he's performing with the rock band VEER, who can be found at veerband.net and wherever you stream your music.
Visit
His most recent novels include Senseless (2025) and Small Town Horror (2024), both of which received favorable reviews and saw Malfi stretch his authorial voice.
Come with Me (2021) and Black Mouth (2022), tackle themes of grief and loss, and of the effects of childhood trauma and alcoholism, respectively. Both books have been critically praised, with Publishers Weekly calling Black Mouth a "standout" book of the year. These novels were followed by Ghostwritten (2022), a collection of four subtly-linked novellas about haunted books and the power of the written word. Ghostwritten received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called the book a "wonderfully meta collection...vibrantly imagined," and that "Malfi makes reading about the perils of reading a terrifying delight."
Among his most popular works is December Park, a coming-of-age thriller set in the '90s, wherein five teenage boys take up the hunt for a child murderer in their hometown of Harting Farms, Maryland. In interviews, Malfi has expressed that this is his most autobiographical book to date. In 2015, this novel was awarded the Beverly Hills International Book Award for best suspense novel. It has been optioned several times for film.
Bone White (2017), about a man searching for his lost twin brother in a haunted Alaskan mining town, was touted as "an elegant, twisted, gripping slow-burn of a novel that burrows under the skin and nestles deep," by RT Book Reviews, and has also been optioned for television by Fox21/Disney and Amazon Studios.
His novels Little Girls (2015) and The Night Parade (2016) explore broken families forced to endure horrific and extraordinary circumstances, which has become the hallmark for Malfi's brand of intimate, lyrical horror fiction.
His earlier works, such as Via Dolorosa (2007) and Passenger (2008) explored characters with lost or confused identities, wherein Malfi experimented with the ultimate unreliable narrators. He maintained this trend in his award-winning novel, Floating Staircase (2011), which the author has suggested contains "multiple endings for the astute reader."
His more "monstery" novels, such as Snow (2010) and The Narrows (2012) still resonate with his inimitable brand of literary cadence and focus on character and story over plot. Both books were highly regarded by fans and reviewers in the genre.
A bit of a departure, Malfi published the crime drama Shamrock Alley in 2009, based on the true exploits of his own father, a former Secret Service agent. The book was optioned several times for film.
Ronald Malfi was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1977, the eldest of four children, and eventually relocated to Maryland, where he currently resides along the Chesapeake Bay.
When he's not writing, he's performing with the rock band VEER, who can be found at veerband.net and wherever you stream your music.
Visit
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 30, 2013
What a bizarre novella this was!
Marcus, a psychotherapist, gets a call from a friend of an old friend, asking for help. It seems that their mutual acquaintance, Charlie Provonella, has recently been divorced from his wife but refuses to leave the family home. Since the home now belongs solely to his ex-wife, he needs to move out. Marcus is called in to help convince Charlie to leave.
Once Marcus arrives at Charlie's he begins to realize that this task is going to take longer than he originally thought, because Charlie has other issues going on.
I will leave the plot description there. This is a short novella, but even so, Mr. Malfi creates characters that are complicated and he causes you to care for them. I loved the ending of this story and I know I must have sat there for a moment with my jaw hanging open, just savoring the last few sentences. This was another enjoyable Ron Malfi novella (he has a lot of them, check out Skullbelly or After the Fade, a couple of my favorites!), and it warmed me up for my Shelfari group's read of The Narrows this week. Recommended!
Marcus, a psychotherapist, gets a call from a friend of an old friend, asking for help. It seems that their mutual acquaintance, Charlie Provonella, has recently been divorced from his wife but refuses to leave the family home. Since the home now belongs solely to his ex-wife, he needs to move out. Marcus is called in to help convince Charlie to leave.
Once Marcus arrives at Charlie's he begins to realize that this task is going to take longer than he originally thought, because Charlie has other issues going on.
I will leave the plot description there. This is a short novella, but even so, Mr. Malfi creates characters that are complicated and he causes you to care for them. I loved the ending of this story and I know I must have sat there for a moment with my jaw hanging open, just savoring the last few sentences. This was another enjoyable Ron Malfi novella (he has a lot of them, check out Skullbelly or After the Fade, a couple of my favorites!), and it warmed me up for my Shelfari group's read of The Narrows this week. Recommended!
September 6, 2011
Charlie Pronovella Golden Gloves retired boxing champ is like the title says going through a Separation with his wife. He just does not want to let her go. He's loosing a grip on reality, he complains that everything has shifted to the left a bit displaced off-center. Two pals one a Doctor try desperately for him to snap back to reality and get him out of this dream state of consciousness he is slowly loosing his mind. Malfi proves again at how well he can write. This was a good melancholy tale.
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http://more2read.com/?review=the-separation-by-ronald-malfi
February 17, 2011
I have the signed/limited hardcover. But it can also be picked up at Darkside Digital.
This is the first longer piece of Malfi’s fiction I’ve read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It may be too slow paced for some, and there’s not much for violence (or really anything in-your-face) but this story has substance and is wonderfully written. I found myself caring for the protagonist and the friend he’s trying to save. The Separation also has an ending that is perfect for the tone and structure of the tale.
http://www.darkside-digital.com/the-s...
This is the first longer piece of Malfi’s fiction I’ve read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It may be too slow paced for some, and there’s not much for violence (or really anything in-your-face) but this story has substance and is wonderfully written. I found myself caring for the protagonist and the friend he’s trying to save. The Separation also has an ending that is perfect for the tone and structure of the tale.
http://www.darkside-digital.com/the-s...
October 10, 2011
A little slower in developing than other of Mr. Malfi’s stories but that’s probably because of the 1st person POV narration. This is still an uneasy detailing of a man’s spiral into depression after losing the love of his life and his obsession with the two things he still owns reminding him of her. How those two things enter into what subsequently happens is up to the reader to decide.
The Separation is filled with that atmosphere of disquiet and foreboding expectation of disaster one has come to expect from Mr. Malfi’s stories. It’s a study in the psychological breakdown of a human mind, with an unexplainable result. It may not be as full of action as The Ascent or have as many supernatural elements, but it’s an entertainment nonetheless.
The Separation is filled with that atmosphere of disquiet and foreboding expectation of disaster one has come to expect from Mr. Malfi’s stories. It’s a study in the psychological breakdown of a human mind, with an unexplainable result. It may not be as full of action as The Ascent or have as many supernatural elements, but it’s an entertainment nonetheless.
April 21, 2025
This is a weird novel, I suppose some people don't handle separation well.
In "The Separation," psychotherapist Marcus Llewellyn travels to Germany to help his friend, Charlie Pronovella, a promising boxer struggling with deep depression after a marriage breakup. As Marcus takes Charlie on as a client, he begins to question his own abilities as Charlie's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, possibly hinting at a nervous breakdown or supernatural influences.
The novel isn't typical of Malfi's work and may not be suitable for newcomers due to its slow pacing and lack of shocking moments. However, the well-written characters, especially Marcus, and the ending align well with the story's tone.
In "The Separation," psychotherapist Marcus Llewellyn travels to Germany to help his friend, Charlie Pronovella, a promising boxer struggling with deep depression after a marriage breakup. As Marcus takes Charlie on as a client, he begins to question his own abilities as Charlie's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, possibly hinting at a nervous breakdown or supernatural influences.
The novel isn't typical of Malfi's work and may not be suitable for newcomers due to its slow pacing and lack of shocking moments. However, the well-written characters, especially Marcus, and the ending align well with the story's tone.
February 13, 2025
Wasn't super crazy about this novella, although the ending got a bit interesting. I liked how off the character of Charlie was, constantly stating he was off kilter and imbalanced. I thought for sure it would head into supernatural territory, but I was genuinely surprised at the natural brutal conclusion.
April 23, 2024
It was fine, I feel like you knew what was happening from the beginning. So far not super impressed with the writing.
October 5, 2025
This was a mess, structurally, and could have really used some editing.
December 3, 2025
Two stars just because I liked the funny twist at the end and also for the pun of the title.
June 15, 2012
Interesting Novella that keeps you interested and guessing what is actually going to happen next. A slow and deliberate pace but the story never dragged. Good character characterization as well. I thought the ending was a little bit of a letdown and was hoping for a slight more exciting conclusion. Overall it is a fast read and another good piece of writing from Ronald Malfi.
February 13, 2011
Just read this recently I will have to admit I was very impressed by this small book. It had everything you would want and more great characters and a good story which I found to have the perfect mix of suspense and a good ending.
February 3, 2011
Well writen. Characterisation is great. But the story, although intriguing, did not hold my interest.
October 6, 2014
One star because the part with the horse was distasteful and disgusting !!
June 25, 2018
Dated: June 25th, 2018...
Unexpected, totally unexpected about that ending moment…
Separation hurts, it hurts like nothing other that you can ever endure in a relationship. But what happened in here was something beyond anything. Well I would like to say that in the beginning of the story it was a slow start but it kept the rhythm and was interesting for keep going…
Charlie Pronovella a former boxer separated from his wife Gloria. It shake him to his core. He couldn’t let it go as of course at first it is impossible to do so. But in that case Charlie just couldn’t help himself but think about her former wife and whenever he found himself in that room he always stared up to that portrait frame of his wife that hanged on the wall. But there’s something very odd about him, about his movement, behavior and the way he act himself. To his rescue from this misery his old friend the psychotherapist Marcus Llewellyn arrives in Germany. As the day go by he too realize there’s something off about Charlie. Alongside with Jerry and Demitris he tried his best to fetch a solution. And of course in some point or maximum point Charlie did listen to his friend Marcus. It was Charlie who always been showed in Gloria house at night while riding that horse but in the morning when asked about it to him Charlie denied always. So how come that possible if it was not him but of course Marcus did see Charlie go to that stable and that he caress that horse in the middle of the night. While Marcus kept a watchful eye for him it was then in the final day of that incident that occurred everything that Marcus believed been vanished in a while. You will get it when you got to read that tale out. I was really surprised at the end. In all of the story there’s almost nothing but forced you keep thinking what might happen next in the upcoming chapter. So then who might’ve thought the ending would come out like that. It really caught me off guard…
4 out of 5 from me…
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews