About the Author
Viola Ardone was born in Naples in 1974. A high school Latin and Italian teacher, she holds a degree in literature and worked in academic publishing. She is the author of two previous novels in Italian, La ricetta del cuore in subbuglio and Una rivoluzione sentimentale. Follow @viola_ardone on Twitter
About the Translator
Follow @botsford_cla on Twitter, Visit clarissabotsford.com
From the internationally bestselling author of The Children’s Train comes an unforgettable coming-of-age novel, set in 1960s Sicily and based on a true story, of how a young Sicilian girl defied centuries old tradition to win the right to control her own life.
As provincial Sicily bursts into life with the jaunty hum of pop music and the heady scent of wild jasmine, fifteen-year-old Oliva Denaro dares to challenge convention, ignoring the taunts of peers, her mother’s scolds, and her own changing body. Spirited and carefree, she loves to run until her lungs burst: to feel the strength of her lithe limbs, to relish the freedom she cherishes, to honor the friends forced by propriety to conform. Though she knows she cannot stop growing up, Oliva resists the future. To her, becoming a woman means denying oneself.
But adulthood comes all too quickly when the baker’s son sets his sights on her. Offered a blood orange, Oliva—haunted by her mother’s warning, “a girl who smiles has already said yes”—spurns the fruit. Yet, this act sets into motion an unwanted courtship that will force Oliva to fight for the right to choose her own path, even though the odds of winning are steep. While America and Europe are in the throes of social change, Sicily fiercely clings to its rigid traditions, including the custom of fuitina - by which kidnappings could be disguised as elopements– which is accepted and enshrined in law. Oliva’s battle for independence is based on the real-life story that would ultimately rock Italy–capturing the attention of both the Pope and the nation’s president—and transform life for all Italians.
The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro is a lyrical tale of staggering beauty. Viola Ardone beautifully evokes a land and its people, customs, and passions, and breathes life into an unforgettable girl in all her intensity, desperation, perseverance, and bravery. Alternating between the lighthearted and the tragic, it is a classic coming-of-age novel—powerful, spellbinding, and liberating. - Translated from the Italian by Clarissa Botsford.
Review
I think what captured the heart of the systemic patriarchal attitudes and misogynistic slant towards girls - even by the women who push those same values and attitudes on the younger generations - is the way Oliva is taught to hate her own womanhood. To fear the change, to work actively towards her biology and inevitable hormonal changes, because it means the beginning of the real oppression.
This is such a heartbreaking and yet simultaneously a poignant representation of consent. How the words and language we use to convey a lack of consent have been misappropriated and misconstrued to realign with the agendas and needs of the appropriators of this word - those who think there is no such thing as consent for women and girls.
This is the most important element to remember, especially as we are now faced with the further eradication of women's rights, the violence against women of all ages is on the rise, and any steps forward in bodily autonomy we have taken have and are being erased.
It would also be a mistake to think that this fictional story, which is based on a true one, is a thing of the past. There are certain countries where the kidnappings of 'potential brides' are still a common custom.
It's a really good read. Kudos to the translator by the way, they really captured the voice, tone and heart of the story the author wanted to gift to readers.
Buy The Unbreakable Heart of Oliva Denaro at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harpervia pub date 9 May 2023. Buy at Amazon com.
No comments:
Post a Comment