Yvonne Carbonaro's new novel presented in Ischia

By Gennaro Savio

È stato presentato presso la Biblioteca Antoniana di Ischia il nuovo romanzo di Yvonne Carbonaro intitolato “Quando le donne non si arrendono”. Un volume la cui bozza era stata letta da Dacia Maraini, che lo aveva molto apprezzato, sostenendo che la saga familiare proposta era popolata di tanti personaggi originali e attraenti e che il racconto era stato condotto con passione e ironia. La presentazione, a cura della direttrice della Biblioteca Antoniana Lucia Annicelli e del noto giornalista e scrittore Ciro Cenatiempo, nonostante il caldo torrido, ha visto la presenza in sala di tantissime persone.

The Family Saga of the Novel

The novel unfolds through a saga that the protagonist, Luisa, reconstructs by retracing memories and family stories. It traces the decline of the fortunes of a wealthy family linked to the decay of the fortunes of the South after the Unification of Italy, and the reflections that derive from it. It highlights the resistance and courage to face adversity, despite scarce resources, by a dynasty of intelligent and resolute women, left alone generation after generation, due to the relentlessness of historical and family events.

Female Portraits and Resilience

Female portraits emerge, outlined in the specific peculiarities of each, with merits and defects, and in the ability to persevere despite serious difficulties. From the comparison between those experiences and Luisa's experience, it is clear how behaviors are linked to the changing times and socio-political circumstances and the state of the female condition in force in the historical moment of which each is a part.

Narration and Historical Atmosphere

The narrative, with a light but emotionally intense writing, restores the rhythms of life in the past and the habits of a southern agricultural area, closely linked to economic conditions. It takes us back to the ancient wisdom of the past and reconstructs its atmosphere with calmly elegiac and at the same time gently ironic tones. The reference to the gradual transformations due to the passage of time underlines the passage from the crisis of a world inexorably destined to disappear, to the maturation of a different concept of living, of customs and above all of a true gender equality that is slow to come true.

Details and Structure of the Novel

The novel is illustrated, in the manner of Umberto Eco in “The wonderful flame of Queen Loana”. It consists of 367 pages with a Family Tree and Index and is read with increasing interest as one delves into the stories of the characters.

The Message of the Novel

At the end of the presentation, Dr. Lucia Annicelli expressed her opinion on the message that the author wanted to convey through the book. “certainly – declared Annicelli – the title already announces it, 'When women don't give up'. The strength, the ability of women to know how to get up again, to know how to rebuild despite the difficulties. To know how to be a point of reference not only in the family but also in society. In fact, the novel has an extraordinary ability which is that of transporting us not only into the story of the individual but of knowing how to tell, through that micro-history, the story of so many women who have been decisive for the history of our country and specifically of southern Italy”.