Summer readings: writers’ advice between classics and new releases

The second book that the author of the Bastards of Pizzofalcone series proposes is “‘The sky of the invisible’ by François Morlupi, one of the new and most interesting voices in the Italian black novel. The story is set in Rome right in the world of people we don’t see: street vendors, homeless people, immigrants. In short, a suburban world that we don’t consider. The book has a very well done plot. Morlupi has an extraordinary ability to identify characters.” Not only novels, however, but also essays. De Giovanni also recommends bringing a suitcase “‘The music is over’ by Gino Castaldo

: an excursus on the digital evolution of music and how this evolution distances music itself from creativity, making it standardized”. For her part, the doyenne of female writers Dacia Maraini focuses on a mix of classic and current books. As regards the first area, the author of ‘Bagheria’ highlights three volumes: “The first is ‘The paths of the spider’s nests’ by Italo Calvino, a book that talks about war and resistance; the other is ‘Agnese goes to die’ by Renata Viganò. These are two books that recall the war.” Always drawing on the classics, Maraini then cites “‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka. As regards the books released in recent months, I would recommend two titles on the disease. The first is ‘The cure’, the book in which Concita De Gregoriovolume in which Alcide Pierantozzi talks about his psychosis, his mental illness. This is a problem that affects many young people who are not well. In short, I choose two current books on both physical and psychological illness and classic books that remind us of the importance of resistance especially in this period in which there is a lot of talk about war.”

Also highlighting Pierantozzi’s work ‘Lo sbilico’ – which arrived a few weeks ago in the Strega prize sestina – is the writer Donatella Di Pietrantonio which, not surprisingly, nominated him for our most coveted literary laurel. “In addition to my dear Pierantozzi – says Di Pietrantonio – I suggest the book of short stories ‘The Good Evil’ by Samanta Schweblin e ‘My refuge and my storm’ by Arundhati Roy. I would also recommend ‘Night in the Heart’ by Nathacha Appanah to readers.” The writer Fabio Genovesi – Strega Giovani award in 2015 with ‘Chi sende le waves’ and author of the book ‘My magnificent teachers’ in 2025 – instead focuses on a timeless classic signed by the Nobel Prize winner for literature

Gabriel García Márquez.
“As a first choice – he says – I go for the classic and choose ‘Love in the time of cholera’. It’s a story that starts from a love, around which an entire world moves. It demonstrates how love moves the world and perhaps, in this historical period, we need to remind ourselves of this.” Looking instead more at current events, Genovesi offers a title that helps to understand cinematographic success of Noland’s Odyssey. “It’s about ‘Troia, the eternal illusion’

by the archaeologist Stefano De Martino, professor of Hittitology at the University of Turin. He wrote a very interesting and informative volume on the history of the city of Troia for the publisher Il Mulino” explaining “why this ancient city has remained in the collective imagination for us. In this time when there is so much talk about Homer and the Odyssey for Noland’s film – he observes – this reading is perhaps a way to better understand the context. It’s a learned story but also very accessible and enjoyable.” Genovesi’s third reading tip is an incursion into Japanese literature: ‘The Master’, the coming-of-age novel written in 1906 by Natsume Sōseki, now revived by Neri Pozza. “It’s a very interesting kind of Japanese Young Holden. It is the story – says Genovesi – of a child, who later became a man, always rebellious against the most harmful things in the world: the habits and good manners that force us to behave in such a way that society is happy with us, those slavery that ruin our lives. The protagonist is a little boy, who then grows up, completely allergic to these things. It’s a book that can be read with great pleasure.” Emanuele Trevi, who won the Strega award in 2021 with ‘Due Vite’ is clear: “I would propose – he says –