Marina Bellezza

Marina Bellezza is a novel set in the Piedmont Valley of Italy, where the once thriving wool industry has moved away in the early 2000s, leaving the towns desolate and the younger generation resigned to the ongoing crisis. However, Andrea and Marina have plans for their future. Andrea dreams of leaving his bourgeois family and university degrees behind to raise cows on his grandfather's alpine farm. Marina, with her goddess-like appearance and voice, scours fairs and talent shows in hopes of becoming a star.

With her fierce determination and the arrogance of her twenties, Marina is convinced that she belongs at the center of attention, having failed to hold onto her father's attention. Despite their differences, Andrea and Marina share an all-consuming passion since adolescence, a fever they promise each time to extinguish. But is it reasonable to be sensible when "their generation is excluded from everything, born at the wrong time in the wrong place"? In this second novel, Silvia Avallone once again demonstrates her incredible talent for describing the flaws of our society, the doubts of its youth, and the movement that pushes them to reclaim their land and origins.