A talented author.
A vivid and intense debut which has the richness of a lifetime story.
An honest voice and a straight as an arrow writing style.
A book that has the right elements to be a brilliant example of Italian Novel.
Lot 69, 2 Rossellini Street, Testaccio. A working class neighbourhood where Second World War’s scarfs still hurt. Life is lacking in opportunities and burdened by poverty and violence.
Among the many faces of this choral story, the ones of two women stand out clearly.
Giovanna is aggressive and wild. Always ready to get into fight. Beautiful as a Greek goddess and strong as an athlete. She’s smart and illiterate; generous with the kids and the weak of the block and merciless with the strong.
Anna is a bit older than her. She’s calm and thoughtful, a loving mother and caring wife. She belongs to a teachers family and she deeply loves literature.
Two women who couldn’t be any different. A bond that is beyond friendship, but a real sisterhood through which they escape from a domestic prison.
Their destinies are intertwined with the ones of the others residents of Lot 69, shaping up an unforgettable portait of post-war Italy full of fascination and realism.
These lives made of violence and abuses, unveil a humanity in its bright authenticity that – loving, suffering and fighting – can survive anything.