Two children flee the war in the Balkans. A little girl immobilized by a brain disease. A little orphan growing up reflecting on the choice of her birth mother, who abandoned her and then committed suicide. A former child from Turin who traces all the houses of his life to finally be able to tell the story of his beloved father’s illness, the depression that so marked his life and that of the whole family. And finally the story of a man who is known to half the world for his book, which is closest to children, for his little prince dreamer: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In a way, the five finalist books for the 2023 Strega Prize are all about children, with growing up stories that are more or less difficult or painful.
To announce them on Wednesday, June 7, at the Roman Theater in Benevento, he called the authors onto the stage, the writer Mario Desiati, president of the polling station and winner of the last edition. The five-man shortlist for the 77th edition of Strega was unveiled live on RaiPlay. And here they are, in the order of their votes, the protagonists of the five of the competition created by Maria Bellonci in 1947.
The first two are Rosella Postorino and Ada d’Adamo, with Mi Limitavo ad amare te (Feltrinelli) and Come d’aria (Elliot) 217 and 217 respectively. Received 199 votes. The other three titles in the final are: Where you don’t bring me (Einaudi) by Maria Grazia Calandrone (183 votes, 34 fewer than the first in the list); The Night Crossing (La nave di Teseo) by Andrea Canobbio (175 votes) and The Night Steal (Mondadori) by Romana Petri (167 votes), translator and literary critic, already twice a Strega finalist (1998 with Alle Case Venie, in 2013 with children of the same father). Everything was decided by 596 voters out of 660, from the 400 Amici della Domenica, to the 220 Italian and foreign scholars, translators and intellectuals, to the 20 strong readers and 20 collective votes from schools, universities and reading groups; as well as by the guys from Strega Giovani.
A sensitive gulf that lies between the two authors at the top, but not unbridgeable in the face of a choice – that of the final on July 6 in Rome and the proclamation in the courtyard of the National Etruscan Museum – that could be fought out the wave of Emotions that already accompanied d’Adamo’s victory at Strega Giovani and was announced on Tuesday June 6th at the Mann Auditorium in Naples. The author passed away on April 1st, aged just 55 and just two days after Come d’aria announced its selection of the dozen semi-finalists. It is a novel that touches the heart, a memoir, a book that captivates. In the lead role, a fifty-year-old former dancer who discovered she has cancer tells her disabled daughter the story of her deep bond. D’Adamo has written an admittedly autobiographical book: she herself had a daughter who was severely disabled from birth. The husband of the writer Alfredo Favi, who had said at Strega Giovani that he was “happy to receive this award for Ada but angry because she is no longer here to accept it”, was moved.
“It was a hard-fought challenge,” says Melania G. Mazzucco, President of the Strega Prize Steering Committee, “but I don’t think that’s the end of it.” The final one? Everything must be decided, because the challengers are all worthy. I would like to point out that there are always surprises at the end. And that this is a year in which emotions will play a major role in the analysis of beautiful and profound works.”
Among the dozens of other newcomers, Cassandra is left out in Mogadishu (Bompiani) by Igiaba Scego, who many hoped would reach the final; La Sibilla, vita di Joyce Lussu (Laterza) by Silvia Ballestra; Ferrovie del Mexico by Gian Marco Griffi (Laurana), which went from 200 copies booked to 30,000 copies sold.
Also published are the books by Neri Pozza – Una minima infelizia, the debut of Carmen Verde – and Marsilio – the moving return from the forest by Maddalena Vaglio Tanet – and Bollati Boringhieri with The White Continent by Andrea Tarabbia. In addition to Scego, Bompiani also loses Vincenzo Latronico with his fourth novel “The Perfections”.
The two novels that top the list for voices stand out in different ways for the rawness of the reality of the protagonists: “I came across the story of these children who were taken to Italy during the siege of Sarajevo,” says Postorino. . I was impressed by her journey: Italy welcomed her in solidarity. However, in order to save themselves, they lost everything they had.” Then he explains: “I am interested in scarred childhoods, children who have suffered an original damage.” And he reveals: This book is “the last piece of a Reflection on motherhood: I’m not just about bringing children into the world, but caring for those who are already there.”
In a dialogue in Pescara last March, when the disease made her appear already scarred but still vital, Ada d’Adamo – born in Ortona (Chieti), in Rome in performing arts and graduate of the National Academy of Dance – declared this come d’aria, already a publishing success, she had told her story, emphasizing: “I wanted to convey a sense of what a complete, absolute confusion one feels at the moment of a diagnosis like that of my daughter, a diagnosis of a malformation , which occurred when you were convinced that you had done everything possible to avoid it.” And he had revealed: “When I was confronted with the news of metastasis from breast cancer, I was shocked: Daria’s name was no longer on the diagnoses , but mine.” And I was afraid that this thing would drive us apart ». It was not like that. Until the end. “And in the end I understood that this experience was actually something that could bring us closer together, that experiencing in different ways what it means to be fragile brought us even closer together.”