Together with the Düsseldorf school principal Dr. Antonietta P. Zeoli, the publisher is delighted about the new publication When the ragazzi say: "Mamma, please write a book!" In a conversation with the publisher, the author made a few statements about her motivation for writing.
How does a headmistress and mother of three children, who undoubtedly has enough to do, come up with the idea of writing a book?
Like every good story, the images in the reader's head relax them and that's what happened to me when I was writing. I felt like I was literally transported to another world and remembering the many anecdotes and creatively processing them into a novel turned out to be a very inspiring task. I was surprised myself.
Combining fictional stories and true events into a special narrative is a small work of art. It is exciting to put together many fictional and real fragments that at first glance have nothing to do with each other. The result is something new and at the same time something familiar.
Others prefer to do sports, attend yoga and meditation classes, or listen to their favorite music on repeat. I like to write.
In your first work of fiction, you tell the life of Marlena Mauro in an autofictional way. How much of Antonietta is there in the character of Marlena?
One might assume it is an autobiography. It is not. It is not unusual for authors to process memories from their biography. What I am trying to say is: Marlena is not Antonietta.
Marlena's story is that of many guest worker children, and therefore certainly mine too. Many of the anecdotes in this book may have actually happened somewhere and at some point, but they did not always necessarily happen to me or someone close to me.
As a school principal, I get to know people every day. They all have stories to tell and many of them are worth hearing. Their stories are the true inspiration that gives shape to this novel.
From my observations and interpretations, the stories of three women emerged whose insights have one big common denominator: Marlena, Valentina and Elisa learn that loving and being loved, especially in a foreign country, can be vital for survival.
What challenges does Marlena have to face due to the multiple moves between Italy and Germany?
It is not just the change between two very different countries and cultures. Quite the opposite: it is not uncommon for the overlap between a shooting club in the heart of the Sauerland and a southern Italian village community to be greater than with its counterpart in northern Italy. The various characters in the novel, including Marlena, go through these and similar experiences.
Why this book?
Why not? The novel shows that supposedly important things in a person's life, such as a southern Italian engagement party or which type of pasta goes best with which sauce, are not to be taken so damn seriously.
In the shadows, hidden from the public eye, the events take place that generations of immigrants experience and yet keep to themselves. There they encounter their true demons beyond pizza, pasta and dolce vita.
The interview was conducted by Christian Leeck.
Wuppertal, September 2024.
Machine translated from German
