24 JUN 2021 · “Summer would return inevitably, as usual. It can't be killed, it's an invulnerable dragon that, with its marvelous youth, is always reborn. And it was a horrible jealousy that pained me, that: to think of the island again inflamed by summer, without me!" Welcome to The Reading Room, Italian modern classics and contemporary literature. This last summery episode is dedicated to L’Isola di Arturo/ by Elsa Morante. The story is set in Procida, a small beautiful island in the bay of Naples. Here Arturo Gerace, a fifteen-year-old boy, lives with his half-German father Wilhelm. Of his mother, Arturo bears no memory, because she died giving birth to him. L’isola di Arturo is a touching coming-of-age novel that describes the dramatic shifts from childhood to adolescence and adult life, where passion, lust, desire and love resonate like a distorted melody in the young Arturo’s head, and where innocence seems to vanish like the shape of the island far away on the horizon. The novel is perfect for this Summer, since the island of Procida was named Italy’s Capital of Culture 2022. The little island, famous for the colorful houses scattered on its cliffs, will host 44 cultural events, involving 240 artists, from Italy and abroad. We wish you a wonderful Summer… maybe in Procida!

27 MAY 2021 · "The Reading Room" is a special virtual place where to share inspiring reading tips. Every month – from January to June – the Italian Cultural Institute suggests Italian modern classics and contemporary literature. The Reading Room aims to be a different way to present books. Anecdotes, quotes and curiosities accompany a brief presentation of the plot and the author. This fifth episode is dedicated to "Quiet chaos" ("Caos Calmo") by Sandro Veronesi, who won the Strega Prize, the most prestigious Italian literary award, in 2006. Last year Sandro Veronesi won the Strega Prize for the second time with his last novel "Colibrì". “Quiet Chaos” was published in Sweden in 2013 by the publishing house Contempo, translated by Louise Kahan with the title “Stilla Kaos”. Did you know that… ? “Quiet Chaos” was the first multimedia book in Italy. It was available on iPad, Iphone and iPod touch. Other than the text, it was possible to download short clips form the movie “Quiet Chaos”, based on the novel. Buona lettura e buon ascolto!

5 MAY 2021 · The fourth episode is dedicated to “L’Arminuta”/“Den återlämnade flickan” by Donatella di Pietrantonio. Donatella di Pietrantonio’s language is clear and essential when it vivisects feelings such as fear and anger, but also bright and warm when it describes the friendship between the two sisters. This style seems to reflect the landscape of Abruzzo, where the novel is set. Abruzzo is a lesser-known region, almost split between the sunny Adriatic coast and the majestic, though ardous inland mountains. The book was published in Sweden in 2019 by the publishing house Polaris, translated by Johanna Hedenberg with the title “Den återlämnade flickan”.

25 MAR 2021 · This third episode is dedicated to "Cinque storie ferraresi" by Giorgio Bassani, the Italian writer who defintely put Ferrara on the map. All his works are set here, like the five short-stories in “Cinque storie ferraresi” (“Innanför stadsmuren”), published in 1956. These stories are about a young woman who is abandoned by her husband, a Jewish doctor who marries a low-class nurse, a man who has survived concentration camp and unexpectedly comes back home, and a pharmacist who perhaps has witnessed the killing of some partisans during the war. However, the protagonist of the book is the city and its ancient walls. Ferrara is depicted like a small microcosm, where Christians used to live together with Jews, where poor workers lived not far from wealthy bourgois and facists lived next door with anti-fascists. “Cinque storie ferraresi” was published in Sweden in 2020 by the publishing house Modernista, translated by Johanna Hedenberg with the title “Innanför stadsmuren”. Buona lettura e buon ascolto!

25 FEB 2021 · The second episode is dedicated to "Accabadora" by Michela Murgia, that was published in Sweden in 2012 by the Brombergs förlag, translated by Barbro Andersson with the title “Själamakerskan”. With a language sharp as a razor-blade, Michela Murgia describes the dynamics of the villagers of Soreni, where old traditions and ancestral rites are deprived of their folkloristic features and charged with the ethical dilemmas we still face today.

9 FEB 2021 · This first episode of "The Reading Room" is dedicated to “Il nome della rosa” (“The name of the rose”) by Umberto Eco. During four decades, it has caught the attention of millions of readers, becoming an indisputable modern classic. This is a perfect novel to read over the winter. Set in a gloomy monastery somewhere on the Italian Alps in 1327, it tells the story of the Franciscan Friar William of Baskerville, who finds himself involved in a series of suspicious deaths.