Marcello Fois narrates the vicissitudes of a family through the course of the twentieth century, marked by conflicts and reconciliations, and he lingers on the existential questions that each of us — especially in adulthood — feels growing ever more urgent. In this sweeping family novel, set in a mythical Emilia made of fields, farms, factories, and endless plains, the protagonist Ettore Manfredini, though newly deceased, revisits the pivotal moments, the great joys and sorrows of his loved ones. At last, he sees everyone as they truly were and comes to a realization, in this suspended dimension where time no longer matters, that “living is a vast distraction from dying.”
Marcello Fois will be in conversation with Marco Antonio Bazzocchi, Full Professor of Contemporary Italian Literature and Literature of the Romantic Age.
As part of the review Le Voci dei Libri, in collaboration with Coop Alleanza 3.0
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Marcello Fois was born in Nuoro in 1960 and lives in Bologna. His books have been translated into many languages. For Einaudi, he has published Ferro Recente, Meglio morti, Dura madre, Piccole storie nere, Memoria del vuoto (premio Super Grinzane Cavour2007 - Superwinner Narrativa italiana and Paolo Volponi Prize in 2007), Sheol, L'ultima volta che sono rinato, Sempre caro, Stirpe (Città di Vigevano and Frontino Montefeltro prizes in 2010), Sangue dal cielo, L'altro mondo, Nel tempo di mezzo (finalist for the Campiello Prize and the Strega Prize in 2012), L'importanza dei luoghi comuni (2013), Luce perfetta (Asti d'Appello prize in 2016), Manuale di lettura creativa (2016), Quasi Grazia (2016), I Chironi (a trilogy that brings together in a single volume Stirpe, Nel tempo di mezzo, Luce perfetta), Del dirsi addio (2017), the book of poetry L'infinito non finire (2018), Pietro e Paolo (2019), L'invenzione degli italiani. Dove ci porta Cuore (2021) and L'immensa distrazione (2025).