“I know well that the weaker we are, the more we do harm ourself.”
Open this book with its aggressive cover, with a black and white gaze, that stares at you and you glimpse a little the insolence of an unkind and unsolicited judgment, against you, the reader.
Here, then you start reading and you understand that all that can be wrong is perhaps human judgment. Someone would say “and if this means stealing, only those who know they have God’s point of view in their pocket can say it…” and we are certain, this book, Emilia’s story, teaches us exactly this: no judgment, no prejudice.
Emilia, a young woman, must take back the little hope that she manages to gather outside the prison doors and start a new life.
Yes, reader, of course, ask yourself what crime Emilia has committed: it will be a tenacious curiosity that will keep you glued to the book until the last pages (spoiler required, sorry).
The writer leads us to the discovery of this character through the words and thoughts of another character, Bruno.
Throughout the book there are at least two levels of reading: between the simple narration and a metaphorical sense that, we are sure, you will enjoy finding everywhere.
Emilia who reintegrates into society but it consists of only two inhabitants in a small mountain village; Emilia who wants to introduce herself but is constantly narrated to us by the words of others; Emilia, the condemned, the guilty, who must restore a universal judgment in the church of the valley. What value can all this have? without falling into lazy sentimentality, to approach this book and Emilia, we must really ask ourselves: are we really willing to believe in justice and its course to which we are all ready to appeal? That is, are we willing to know Emilia, who presents herself to us, after having served a guilt of almost 15 years? Or is this not enough for us?
A text that lends itself to being a source of discussion, and in fact we read it with our GLOB reading group, and each one found a different key to reading the different characters and the approach taken by the author.
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Silvia Avallone, Cuore nero, Rizzoli, Milano, 2024