Author:
Cinzia Leone
Publishing house:
Mondadori
Date of publication:
23-05-2023
A suicide bomber detonates himself at a club in Tel Aviv. A young man dies in the massacre, his name is Ariel Anav, he is Italian and wears the uniform of the Israeli army. Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, the parents, Micòl and Daniel, are told that they will have to wait to get their son’s body back: he and the suicide bomber were so close that the deflagration mixed up their remains.
What is the name of someone who is orphaned by a child? The word does not exist. Children grow up next to us but we know only a fraction of them; the rest is mystery. With children there are no calculations, children are lost and found, but Micòl his can no longer find him. Searching for Ariel’s last days, her mother uncovers her secrets: a love that overcomes walls and a friendship that can overturn destiny. Unexpected passions and mysterious fragilities, wounds that heal only by sinking the blade. Along with her, with regret and anger, with pride and excruciating nostalgia, her father, grandmother, lover and friend also face grief. Each has his own Ariel in his head, and each wants to chase it where he can no longer reach it. Everyone will be able to patch up the past and find themselves. Death calls for death, but life demands life, and at the score written by fate Micòl will find that he can change the ending. People are not lost; it is we who think we have lost them.