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The Steps
"The first time Derek was ever afraid of the children was two or three weeks in, when Angelo screamed at them for ruining his life and headbutted the plate in front of him until it was shrapnel..."
Derek’s childhood sweetheart Sophie and her children, raw from tragedy, move from Canada to his home in England. There they attempt to forge a life together – but their new family is shadowed by grief, myth, and a lingering sense of the uncanny. Through shifting perspectives, from Jules, the delicate middle child, to fierce Ema, debut novelist Juliano Zaffino paints an unforgettable portrait of love, loyalty, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
Blending psychological suspense with intimate family drama, and with echoes of Virginia Woolf and Shirley Jackson, The Steps is both deeply moving and eerily unsettling, a meditation on trauma, family bonds, and the thin line between tenderness and violence.
Derek’s childhood sweetheart Sophie and her children, raw from tragedy, move from Canada to his home in England. There they attempt to forge a life together – but their new family is shadowed by grief, myth, and a lingering sense of the uncanny. Through shifting perspectives, from Jules, the delicate middle child, to fierce Ema, debut novelist Juliano Zaffino paints an unforgettable portrait of love, loyalty, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
Blending psychological suspense with intimate family drama, and with echoes of Virginia Woolf and Shirley Jackson, The Steps is both deeply moving and eerily unsettling, a meditation on trauma, family bonds, and the thin line between tenderness and violence.
328 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2026
About the author
Juliano Zaffino
2 books54 followersJuliano (Jay) Zaffino is a British-Canadian writer, reviewer, editor, and dramaturg. His debut novel The Steps was published in the UK and Ireland by Tramp Press on 30 April 2026, and dubbed ‘a debut of rare confidence’ in the Irish Times.
Jay is represented by Lucy Luck. He also runs the online book community YourShelf.
His debut poetry collection, All Those Bodies And They’re Moving, was published in 2020. A poem from the collection, ‘Strasbourg’, inspired Florence + the Machine’s fifth studio album, Dance Fever. Florence described Jay as “a constant purveyor of literary delights” in the album liner notes.
He is on Instagram @julianozaffino.
Jay is represented by Lucy Luck. He also runs the online book community YourShelf.
His debut poetry collection, All Those Bodies And They’re Moving, was published in 2020. A poem from the collection, ‘Strasbourg’, inspired Florence + the Machine’s fifth studio album, Dance Fever. Florence described Jay as “a constant purveyor of literary delights” in the album liner notes.
He is on Instagram @julianozaffino.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 3, 2026
This book completely captivated me. I read it in one sitting, unable to pull myself away from the De Luca family and the mysteries that seem to surround them. Juliano Zaffino has written a story that is equal parts heartbreaking family drama and quietly unsettling psychological suspense. Every character felt fully realised, every perspective added something meaningful, and the atmosphere was absolutely immersive. Beautifully written, emotionally resonant, and genuinely haunting, The Steps is already one of my favorite reads of the year.
August 19, 2026
4⭐️
read: july 11-15, 2026
8.20.26. i saw this book being chosen for florence welch's book club last month. i've never heard of this before. probably because this was a debut novel and just recently published a few months back. i didn't have any high hopes with this considering that i have a love/hate, mostly hate, relationship with contemporary novels recently. this book was a surprise ngl. this is a story of grief, trauma, chosen family, self-mythology, and parenthood. it is also a ghost story. it's been over a month since i finished this and i've already read a few books since then, but i still remember it. i still remember them. the siblings. the stepfather. their unbelievable connection to each other. the ways they deal with loss. the ways they love and hate each other. the ways they heal and fall apart. it's a very affecting novel written in short paragraphs in beautiful, haunting prose. this is one of those books that demands to be felt. it asks its readers to question the nature of mythmaking and how it affects our lives. is it the truth, or do we believe it only because we've said it about ourselves too many times? it deals with familial love. to what extent do we share it when the people we live with are not our blood? when we are only connected by grief and trauma? how do we heal each other when we are going thru the same pain? and is being there for one another enough to deal with such profound loss? what an impressive novel. i do be feeling it in my meow meow.
read: july 11-15, 2026
8.20.26. i saw this book being chosen for florence welch's book club last month. i've never heard of this before. probably because this was a debut novel and just recently published a few months back. i didn't have any high hopes with this considering that i have a love/hate, mostly hate, relationship with contemporary novels recently. this book was a surprise ngl. this is a story of grief, trauma, chosen family, self-mythology, and parenthood. it is also a ghost story. it's been over a month since i finished this and i've already read a few books since then, but i still remember it. i still remember them. the siblings. the stepfather. their unbelievable connection to each other. the ways they deal with loss. the ways they love and hate each other. the ways they heal and fall apart. it's a very affecting novel written in short paragraphs in beautiful, haunting prose. this is one of those books that demands to be felt. it asks its readers to question the nature of mythmaking and how it affects our lives. is it the truth, or do we believe it only because we've said it about ourselves too many times? it deals with familial love. to what extent do we share it when the people we live with are not our blood? when we are only connected by grief and trauma? how do we heal each other when we are going thru the same pain? and is being there for one another enough to deal with such profound loss? what an impressive novel. i do be feeling it in my meow meow.
June 28, 2026
1) gorgeous cover 2) I ate this upppp. I loved the form and structure. always a marvel when such a large story can be contained in very short chapters. loved the unreliable feeling of the first half especially
April 16, 2026
Jay writes so beautifully about grief, more more more!
August 11, 2026
Somehow manages to be in conversation with another Canadian artistic standout, Blue Heron. Big fan of both!
June 14, 2026
A stunning exploration of grief and trauma.
June 7, 2026
Just finished this extraordinary debut novel from an assured writer http://julianozaffino.com/
Not since reading Yale Van Der Wouden’s ‘The Safekeep’ (another debut) have I read such a compelling debut novel!
Can’t recommend both enough!
Not since reading Yale Van Der Wouden’s ‘The Safekeep’ (another debut) have I read such a compelling debut novel!
Can’t recommend both enough!
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July 13, 2026I often wonder, especially in recent months, whether it’s really our ghosts that haunt us or if it’s us who can’t let them go. If we’re not the ones haunting, howling and hounding our lost ones, screaming at them to come back, even if we’re afraid that they might actually do just that.
The Steps by Juliano Zaffino is a fragmented narrative dealing with loss, grief, trauma and the destructive effects a family can have on itself once it’s brought a little bit too closely together as a result. This is a ghost story, yes, but in the face of loss it is the De Luca children and their stepfather Derek who eventually become their own ghosts as they turn increasingly dependent and eventually destructive towards each other. Out of love. Out of care. Out of desire for self-preservation as a unit. And while one person’s death is sudden and lasts a moment, everyone else becomes a walking shadow, too broken to be truly there, yet not exactly gone.
There is a part towards the middle of the book, where Zaffino’s narrator talks about the Armageddon, the end of the world: how total darkness and great pain will descend, and then a great tremor and torment before the final battle between good and evil commences and brings everything to an end. And I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that in the end, regardless of the side that wins, the world would still be over. The rivers would still dry, and the mountains would rise and the lights would still go out. And this is what Zaffino’s characters carry in them: their own Armageddon. Their own ending. Their own ghosts.
A gorgeous read that starts light and gradually builds up to something heavy and aching. It’s not a sudden punch to the gut, but a slow realisation that you’re pinned down and hurting. It’s a kind of sadness I’ve missed for a while and very much needed.
The chapter written from the perspective of Derek is easily some of the best writing I have read so far this year, so do please come to me when you read it and let’s rave about it.
The Steps by Juliano Zaffino is a fragmented narrative dealing with loss, grief, trauma and the destructive effects a family can have on itself once it’s brought a little bit too closely together as a result. This is a ghost story, yes, but in the face of loss it is the De Luca children and their stepfather Derek who eventually become their own ghosts as they turn increasingly dependent and eventually destructive towards each other. Out of love. Out of care. Out of desire for self-preservation as a unit. And while one person’s death is sudden and lasts a moment, everyone else becomes a walking shadow, too broken to be truly there, yet not exactly gone.
There is a part towards the middle of the book, where Zaffino’s narrator talks about the Armageddon, the end of the world: how total darkness and great pain will descend, and then a great tremor and torment before the final battle between good and evil commences and brings everything to an end. And I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that in the end, regardless of the side that wins, the world would still be over. The rivers would still dry, and the mountains would rise and the lights would still go out. And this is what Zaffino’s characters carry in them: their own Armageddon. Their own ending. Their own ghosts.
A gorgeous read that starts light and gradually builds up to something heavy and aching. It’s not a sudden punch to the gut, but a slow realisation that you’re pinned down and hurting. It’s a kind of sadness I’ve missed for a while and very much needed.
The chapter written from the perspective of Derek is easily some of the best writing I have read so far this year, so do please come to me when you read it and let’s rave about it.
July 5, 2026
Captivating!!!
August 16, 2026
gorgeously sad and brilliant
October 12, 2026
Really enjoyed the structure and found it surprisingly readable but I felt like I wanted slightly more from some aspects of the plot.
April 30, 2026
I flew through the first half of this book. The writing was so beautiful and yet easy to read (and I mean that as a compliment). I did struggle with the second half as it felt much slower than the first. I look forward to seeing what this author writes next as it was a very good debut novel
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews