Works in Search of Publication

Like the Six Characters in Search of an Author in the play by Luigi Pirandello (Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore), the following works which have interested me in recent times are in Search of an English-language Publisher. 

The New Fire

The New Fire, a novel by Enzo Fontana,  recounts the end of the Aztec world which began in the Year of One Reed when the "floating temples" of Cortés, the conquistador or false, deceitful “god”, appeared on the sea. The arrival of the Spaniards and their inexorable advance towards the heart of the empire are imagined through the eyes of the conquered, or more specifically, through the vacillating feelings of Montezuma II, the last emperor of the mexica. Amazed and astonished, doubtful and inexplicably acquiescent, the Lord of the mexica emerges as a solitary, tragic figure sequestered in a world of his own. Isolated in his palace in the city on a lagoon, Mexico-Tenoctitlan, so beautiful as to evoke a Venice of the Indies, Montezuma cannot determine whether Cortés is the returning god Quetzacoatl or an invader. 
Though the story of Cortés' conquest of Montezuma's realm has been told many times, Fontana's wry, often ironic voice coupled with a compassionate empathy for the mexica and their ill-fated emperor give this version a unique quality. Fontana brings to life a crucial period in the early history of Mexico which will appeal to history enthusiasts as well as anyone in the mood for an engaging story brimming with betrayal and ambition.

Sample translation available upon request.

The New Fire, a novel by Enzo Fontana. (Il fuoco nuovo. Casa Editrice Marietti, 2006). 


Absolution

Absolution, a novel by Antonio Monda. (Assoluzione. Milan: Mondadori, 2008).

One critic wrote about the novel Absolution: “Antonio Monda … has written a novel full of surprises... Entitled Assoluzione (Absolution), it is the story of a young lawyer and his illustrious mentor, a luminary in the field of criminal law. A fervent supporter of civil rights, the older man personally experienced the breakdown of the justice system when he was unjustly accused of collusion with the camorra and made to serve a brief period of detention. It is the story of the relationship between the elderly mentor and his young apprentice, but above all it is the rendering of a fundamental concept of our law: the presumption of innocence.” (Grasso Aldo, Corriere della Sera, April 8, 2008). 
Beyond this, Monda's novel is a page-turner, with strong human-interest appeal. The real protagonist of the book is the ambitious young attorney, Marigliano, an unsympathetic character at best, who pretends to know things he doesn't, is overly concerned with superficial appearances, and whose egotism and ambition lead him to distort and exploit his mentor's principles and lose his own moral compass in the bargain. Another critic rightfully (Natalia Aspesi, Repubblica, April 1, 2008) characterized the narrative as "when a lawyer renounces his soul". 

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to literary agent Edward Orloff at The Wylie Agency: eorloff@wylieagency.com 

A translation of excerpts from critical reviews that have appeared in the Italian press is available upon request.


Kidney Stones

Milena Agus' novel Kidney Stones (Mal di Pietre, Nottetempo, 2006) was the winner of the 2008 Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò/Città di Roma award for Italian fiction. 
The novel is the story of a woman, her marriage, and her love for a man she calls “il Reduce” (the Veteran). She meets him at a spa which both of them frequent to cure their kidney stones (hence the title of the book). Their encounter is told through the eyes of the woman’s granddaughter who, with curiosity and childish sweetness, explores the mysteries of her grandmother's secret life. The Sardinian writer has said that the character of Nonna Lia has strong autobiographical connotations: that she invented her to try to discover the kind of person she herself would have been had she lived a half of a century ago.
The award involves a significant financial contribution for the translation and publication of the book in the United States. “The prize has a double aim: to promote Italian fiction in America and to give Italian authors and publishers the chance to meet a young and international audience in order to facilitate a cultural interchange across borders,” says Director Albertini.

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to Stefano Albertini, Director 
Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò: stefano.albertini@nyu.edu

Sample translation available upon request.

Milena Agus, 
Kidney Stones. 
(Mal di pietre. Rome: Nottetempo, 2006).


The Game of the Universe

Dacia Maraini & Fosco Maraini, The Game of the Universe: Imaginary Dialogues Between a Father and Daughter. 
(Il gioco dell'universo. Dialoghi immaginari tra un padre e una figlia. Milan: Mondadori, 2007).

 The book The Game of the Universe (“Il gioco dell'universo. Dialoghi immaginari tra un padre e una figlia”, Mondadori, 2007) by Dacia Maraini e Fosco Maraini is a collage of alternating texts: Dacia’s commentary to Fosco’s notebook entries constitute an “imaginary dialogue” through which she reconstructs her father’s intellectual and existential course, a journey that took him to the far reaches of the east and brought him back to the west to share what he found there. 
Reading and reflecting on the notebooks of Fosco Maraini – pages covered with tiny characters and concise, telegraphic accounts – Dacia reconstructs the figure of her famous father while alternating her comments (sometimes indulgent, always clear-sighted) with his diary entries. Through this “dialogue” she creates a vivid portrait of this man of many interests - travel writer, poet, ethnologist, explorer and photographer - who brought his understanding of the east to the west, and who has been described as “an illuminated humanist who climbed mountains in both the physical and metaphorical sense.” By all accounts Fosco Maraini was an extraordinary man: handsome, eccentric, curious, avid for life, knowledge, experience. While the work of Dacia Maraini has for decades been part of the fabric of Italian culture, Fosco’s work is still awaiting the recognition that it deserves. The attentive portrayal rendered by Dacia constitutes a definitive contribution toward this end.

The rights for “Il gioco dell'universo” are available and owned by the author.

Sample translation available upon request.


Frederick II and Saint Francis

Frederick II and Saint Francis by Carlo Fornari. (Federico II e San Francesco. Parma: Edizioni All'Insegna del Veltro,  2005).

Arising from a series of talks given by the author at the Frederick II Foundation in Jesi, Italy, and published in part in the journal Tabulae of the Centro Studi Fredericiani, the volume Frederick II and Saint Francis by Carlo Fornari considers the lives of Frederick II and Saint Francis and poses the question: did the Swabian Emperor and the saint of Assisi lead parallel lives? 
Though certainly not in the customary meaning of the term, the two colossal figures lived very close in time. Conditioned by the same events, each stood out as an undisputed protagonist within the scope of his own role and his own convictions. The two figures were more or less contemporary, sharing the world scene for well over fifteen years: from 1210 — when Innocent III approved the Order of Brothers Minor and proposed Frederick II as King of Germany — until 1226, the year of the Poverello’s death.

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to the publisher, Edizioni All'Insegna del Veltro.

Sample translation available upon request.


Short Circuit

In her recent collection of short stories entitled Short Circuit (Cortocircuito, Milan: Rizzoli, 2008), Elena Gianini Belotti address a significant issue of our time: immigration. The stories that make up the volume are an invitation to reflection and understanding amidst a mounting tide of xenophobia. 
In Italy (as elsewhere in the world), cities, countryside, factories and even offices are gradually changing. The children of immigrants now speak Italian as their mother tongue and are in all respects citizens of that country, despite the fact that this transformation is neither accepted nor acknowledged. And yet without these “foreigners” the nation would come to a dead stop, unable to stand on its own two feet. Coexistence between native and immigrant populations is problematic, the mingling of ethnicities, cultures and viewpoints can be challenging, and the ensuing transformation is often frightening. As a result, people live in a "blackout" caused by a cortocircuito, a kind of "short circuit" which prevents them from recognizing how much their own lives have become inextricably linked with those of the foreigners: that of Varvara, for example, the protagonist of "The Seagull", who despite her indomitable spirit finds herself hunted "like a fox run down by the hounds". 
Focusing on an unsettling element in contemporary life, the reality of the minority experience, Belotti's stories capture a situation that, like it or not, affects everyone. 

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to the publisher, Rizzoli.

Sample translation available upon request.

Elena Gianini Belotti, Short Circuit, short stories. (Cortocircuito. Milan: Rizzoli, 2008).


A Private Venus

Giorgio Scerbanenco, 
A Private Venus. (Venere privata. Milan: Garzanti, 
1966, 1998).

Giorgio Scerbanenco’s A Private Venus (Venere Privata, Milan, Garzanti Editore, 1966,1998) is the first of four volumes in the acclaimed Duca Lamberti series, the novels that earned the author his reputation and led the way to the contemporary Italian noir. Scerbanenco, who died at the height of his success in 1969, has long been considered the "father" of the Italian noir.
Set in Milan in the 1960s, the novel narrates the investigations of Duca Lamberti, a former doctor expelled from the medical ranks for practicing euthanasia on an elderly female patient. Duca, newly released from prison, accepts an unusual job: an old friend of the family at the police precinct where his father had worked recommends that he be hired to treat David Auseri, the son of an important, busy executive, who has recently become addicted to alcohol. But the matter is not so simple. First he has to uncover the cause of David’s drinking, a secret the young man has been keeping for a year. It regards the death of a young woman, Alberta Radelli, an occasional prostitute found murdered in the outskirts of Milan. David feels responsible and his drinking is due to his remorse and guilt for having forced the woman to get out of his car when she insisted that he take her away. If he hadn’t abandoned her, he reasons, she would still be alive. Duca is convinced that the only effective way to treat his young charge is by ascertaining the real cause of Alberta’s death: suicide or homicide. From Alberta’s sister, Duca obtains the name of a friend, Livia Ussaro, who plays a key role in the resolution of the story, which involves a mysterious pornographic photo studio run by an elusive German.

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to Barbara Griffini at the Berla & Griffini Rights Agency.

Sample translation available upon request.


An Open Wound

Renzo Rocca and Giorgio Stendoro, An Open Wound. (Una ferita aperta. Rome: Sovera Editore, 2007).

 An Open Wound, by distinguished Italian psychologists Renzo Rocca and Giorgio Stendoro, is a novel that lays bare the inner workings of the mind of a pedophile, and the far-reaching damage caused to his victim. 
As the authors observe in their Foreword: “The abuse of children for sexual purposes is no different from the exploitation of minors in the workplace. In both situations children are the victims of violence.” Apparently millions of minors of both genders in the world are victims of sexual abuse, resulting in an astronomic industry that continues to grow exponentially. 
Published in Italy as Una ferita aperta (Sovera Editore, 2007), this is a novel that engages the reader, and points out how this societal scourge can easily proliferate wherever it finds fertile ground. Though it is a work of fiction, the book was written out of respect for the life and inviolability of a human being, and the situation it describes is authentically accurate in its details. The authors (www.rocca-stendoro.it) have published a number of non-fiction books in the area of psychology; this is their first novel.

The rights for “Una ferita aperta” are available and owned by the authors.

Sample translation available upon request.


Angel of the Mud

Leonardo Gori’s novel “Angel of the Mud” (“L'angelo del fango”, Milan, Rizzoli, 2005) was awarded the 2005 Premio Scerbanenco for detective fiction. It is set in Florence, in November, 1966: against a backdrop of the catastrophic flooding of the Arno River that devastated and transfigured the city, the body of a man is found in one of the subterranean rooms of the inundated National Library. Though he appears to be a victim, like all the others, of the surge of mud and oily water that has buried the city, Colonel Bruno Arcieri of the Carabinieri comes to the conclusion that a crime has been committed. Indeed the crime is closely linked to a past that continues to project its lurid shadows onto the present. 

What appears at first to be merely a dramatic discovery, turns out to be the first thread of a web as complex as it is intricate, in which old wrongs and immanent violence emerge from the sludge of time. The Colonel has come to Florence with a team of secret agents to set up and oversee the official visit of the President of the Italian Republic. As unresolved enigmas connected to the last gasps of the war resurface, a conspiracy to kill the President unfolds in a plot involving former Fascists, double agents and disloyal secret service men. And naturally there is a woman involved, Anna Gianfalco, a library clerk, who has her own secrets to hide and fears for her life. All threads converge in this fast-paced, compelling thriller that is meticulously constructed and displays Gori’s rare talent for fusing historical fact with original narrative. Still a child at the time of Florence’s devastating flood of 1966, Gori vividly recalls the angeli del fango, angels of the mud, the volunteers who came to his city in droves to lend a helping hand.

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to literary agent
Piergiorgio Nicolazzini: piergiorgio.nicolazzini@pnla.it 

Sample translation available upon request.

Leonardo Gori, 
Angel of the Mud. (L'angelo del fango. Milan: Rizzoli, 2005). 


Among the Lost Souls

Enzo Fontana’s novel “Among the Lost Souls” (“Tra la perduta gente”, Milan: Mondadori, 1996), set in Italy in 1321, is a fictional account of the final days of Dante Alighieri. The poet, having completed the Commedia, is living out the last months of his life in exile in Ravenna, dependent upon the generosity of his benefactor Guido Novello Da Polenta. Although the documented facts surrounding Dante’s life are few, the novel rests upon a foundation of solid historical research. The backdrop, a period in which the centuries-old animosity between Ravenna and Venice threatens to erupt anew, is vividly drawn, and Dante’s affection for his children Pietro, Jacopo and Antonia, who may soon be homeless yet again, is touchingly and plausibly depicted. The poet’s temperamental and physical traits are also consistent with what has been written about him and what he himself has revealed in his writings: in Fontana’s portrayal, Dante comes across as a man who in the final months of his life remains proud and even arrogant after years of bitter exile. His body may have been “bent” (“alquanto curvetto” in Boccaccio’s words), but his soul remained upright. 
Concerned with themes of universal connection –  war and politics, parental love, human pride, social mores, family relationships, and friendship – the book was conceived and written at a time when Fontana found himself in his own personal “exile” from the world. During that time he read and re-read Dante’s Divine Comedy and completed his own spiritual pilgrimage out of the “dark wood” of his earlier life.

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to the publisher, Mondadori

Sample translation available upon request.

Enzo Fontana, 
Among the Lost Souls.  
(Tra la perduta gente. 
Milan: Mondadori, 1996).
See also: Prof. Peter Cocozzella’s 1997 article on Tra la perduta gente:
http://www.articlearchives.com/humanities-social-science/literature-literature/591355-1.html


Antonietta Pirandello

Marina Argenziano, Antonietta Pirandello née Portolano. Fiction. (Antonietta Pirandello nata Portolano: Dialogo mancato con Luigi. Rome: Editrice Irradiazioni, 2001).

Marina Argenziano’s Antonietta Pirandello née Portolano: A Dialogue with Luigi That Never Took Place" (Antonietta Pirandello nata Portolano: Dialogo mancato con Luigi, Rome: Editrice Irradiazioni, 2001) is a fictional "dialogue" between the well-known Nobel Prize winning playwright Luigi Pirandello and the woman who became his wife. As Pirandello penned his works, his wife slipped slowly into madness. The "dialogue" traces this process, giving a voice to the woman who felt alienated and excluded, and expressing universal themes of male-female relationships and social mores.
Antonietta Portolano was a fine young woman from Girgenti, Sicily, well-off and certainly "bbona pi muglieri" (a good marriage prospect) when Luigi Pirandello met her. When he married her in January, 1894, it was up to him to see to it that she would grow up to become a "real woman". But things did not go as planned. As Luigi went about creating his fictional characters, Antonietta felt uprooted and inadequate, and her psyche became flawed by cracks which crept deeper and deeper. The dialogue traces the tragic crescendo of this marriage and describes the impossible match with powerful tension. Marina Argenziano has created a voice for Antonietta, the woman who up till now has been viewed as a silent, disquieting presence alongside her celebrated husband.
Argenziano is known for her essays and reviews of twentieth century authors, and for her adaptations for the theatre.

Inquiries regarding rights may be addressed to the publisher, Editrice Irradiazioni.

Sample translation available upon request.


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