Angela Nanetti - Biblioteca Salaborsa

Transcript

Hans Christian Andersen Award
2004
Author
Angela Nanetti
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
biography with a portrait of the author
a statement on the candidate’s contribution to literature for young people
complete bibliography of the books for children by the candidate
list of the books sent to the juriors
translation of the first chapter of
“Cristina Belgioioso, an italian princess” and “The man who grew comets”
6. reviews of the books sent to the juriors
7. other important titles
8. list of translated editions, and their languages
9. list of awards and other distinctions
10. appreciative essays, interviews and articles
Angela Nanetti - Hans Christian Andersen Award 2004 – Author
1
biography with a portrait of the author
Angela Nanetti was born in Budrio, in the
province of Bologna, where she spent her
childhood and her adolescence, she graduated
from Bologna University in Medieval History,
with a thesis on the great Pope Gregorio VII and
the Italian Communes.
She moved to Pescara, where she taught Italian
in junior and high secondary school, getting
involved in many activities of experimentation
and research.
In the ‘80s she collaborated with the Institute of
the Italian Encyclopedia and she edited the
anthology "Message in bottle" for Mursia
publisher meant for junior students.
After leaving school in 1995, she devoted herself
exclusively to writing, her great interest.
She has already published (for the EL Editions,
Einaudi Children, Emme Editions), lots of stories
and novels for children of different ages, many
of which have been translated abroad and have
received important prizes and rewards, both
Italian and international.
2
a statement on the candidate’s contribution
to literature for young people
Angela Nanetti is a writer with a strong and authentic calling, who knows how to speak to
readers of any age and who pursues research with the goal of removing all gender barriers,
aside from fashion or current. Her now twenty-year-old career - which began in 1984 with a
story that still retains its “modernity” unscathed (Le memorie di Adalberto) - is dotted with
works translated in several languages (in 1998 “Mio nonno era un ciliegio” was sold in 10
different countries, including Japan) and novels like Guardare l’ombra, La banda dei chiodi,
Cristina di Belgioioso una principessa italiana. Her works always move freely through
introspection and in-depth analyses where deceitful and hidden feelings lie, while still
maintaining their strength and the ability to hold the reader’s attention. Angela Nanetti takes
language to that borderline territory where adherence to things and evocative tension
coexist. With a language that is essential, but still able to take on intense lyrical tones, she
grasps the continuous change of colour in feelings. This is what happens in her latest novel
L’uomo che coltivava le comete which tells the anguish and yearning of the boy Arno, where
children and adults inhabit common ground, where the reason for dreams and utopia can still
nourish the reason for the world.
Daniela Marcheschi
Daniela Marcheschi, author of numerous interdisciplinary essays, at present she teaches Anthropology in
Perugia (“anthropology of arts”) and is Permanent Counsellor of the National Foundation “Carlo Collodi”.
In 1996 she received the Rockfeller Award for criticism and poetry.
3
complete bibliography of the books
for children by the candidate
Le memorie di Adalberto - Adalberto’s memories
Trieste, EL, 1984 (Le letture – Readings)
Trieste, Einaudi Ragazzi, 1995 (Storie e rime – Stories and Rhymes)
10+
Cambio di stagione - Change of season
Trieste, EL, 1988
(Ex Libris)
13+
Guardare l’ombra – Looking at the shadow
Trieste, EL, 1990
(Ex Libris)
13+
Adamo e Abelia - Adamo and Abelia
Trieste, EL, 1991
(Le letture – Readings)
7+
Federico e il trombone - Federico and the Trombone
Trieste, EL, 1992
7+
Veronica ovvero i gatti sono talmente imprendibili! – Veronica, that’s to say cats
are so unpredictable
Trieste, EMME, 1993 (Voltapagina)
Trieste, EL, 1997 (Le letture – Readings)
8+
Mistero sull’isola – Mystery on the island
Trieste, Einaudi Ragazzi, 1996 (Narrativa – Fiction)
Trieste, EL, 1999 (Le letture - Readings)
10+
Mio nonno era un ciliegio – My grandfather was a cherry tree
Trieste, Einaudi Ragazzi, 1998 (Storie e rime – Stories and Rhymes)
Trieste, Einaudi Ragazzi, 1999 (Lo scaffale d’oro – The golden shelf)
9+
Angeli – Angels
Trieste, Einaudi Ragazzi, 1999 (Lo scaffale d’oro – The golden shelf)
Trieste, Einaudi ragazzi, 2002 (Storie e rime – Stories and Rhymes)
8+
Nerone e budino – Nerone and pudding
Trieste, EMME, 1999
(Prime letture – First Readings)
6+
I randagi – The stray
Trieste, EL, 1999
(Frontiere – Frontiers)
15+
La banda dei chiodi – The Gang of Nails
Trieste, EL, 2000
10+
4
complete bibliography of the books
for children by the candidate
Felipe e la luna dispettosa - Felipe and the Spiteful Moon
Trieste, EL, 2000
(Le letture dei piccoli - The Readings of kids)
5+
Aiuto, un topo in trappola – Help! A Mouse in the Trap
Trieste, EMME, 2001
(Storie di paura – Horror stories)
7+
Ofelia, vacci piano! – Ofelia, be careful
Trieste, Einaudi Ragazzi, 2001
(Storie e rime – Stories and Rhymes)
8+
Cristina Belgioioso, una principessa italiana – Cristina Belgioioso, an Italian
Princess
Trieste, EL, 2002
(Sirene - Sirens)
13+
L’uomo che coltivava le comete – The man who grew comets
Trieste, EL, 2002
(Il tesoro – The Treasure)
10+
5
"It's not easy to be eleven. When you are
eleven, you get your first hairs, for example,
or you get beaver teeth and your feet get
bigger and longer"
To be 11 years old is not that easy. At 11 you
feel akward because a little down appears on
your face, and you grow out of your shoes.
So thinks Adalberto who has lots of
problems: he’s not getting taller, his milk
teeth are still there, a mother a grandmother
and his two aunts still consider him a baby.
But a friend like Gigi can make things
change...
Adalberto reflects, the main character of the
book which has made Angela Nanetti famous.
Le memorie di Adalberto
Adalberto’s Memories
by Angela Nanetti
illustrated by Federico Maggioni
Trieste, EL, 1984
88 pp.
age 10 +
6
There are 15 angels: the baby-angel, made
with a piece of cloud and the stone-angel on
a cathedral facade; the messenger-angel and
an angel that watch over an abandoned front
gate; the restless angel and the disobedient
angel... Fifteen angels with fifteen stories,
sometimes realistic, sometimes fantastic, to
tell the children about misery, beauty, mercy,
poetry, innocence and cruelty: in two words
about the human being.
Angeli
Angels
by Angela Nanetti
illustrated by Fausto Bianchi
73 pp.
(Lo Scaffale d’oro – The golden shelf)
age 8+
7
"When I was four years old, I had four
grandparents : two city grandparents and
two country grandparents. The city ones were
called Luigi and Antonietta and they looked
exactly like the people living in the city. The
country ones were called Ottaviano and
Teodolinda and they didn't look like any body
else,
not
even
their
neighbours."
This is the opening of a book telling us about
an extraordinary grandfather and a cherry
tree, about the goose Alfonsine and her
husband
Oreste,
about
grandmother
Teodolinda and her "soft" things; and about a
boy who doesn't forget his "mad" granddad
who used to climb up the trees and who has
made him happy so many times.
A cherry tree, a child and his grandfather
who lives in the countryside are the main
characters of the story.
The cherry tree was planted by the
grandfather when his daughter (the child’s
mother) born.
The cherry tree is the core of the story and
from where all the events and feelings
develop: children’s playmate, place for
adventures, symbol of life continuity. Yet the
most important character of the story is his
grandfather, with his vitality, his sense of
freedom, a grandfather who climbs on trees
and talks to the goose, a “crazy” granny who
can listen to the cherry tree’ breath ...
The child will learn a lot from his grandfather
about life and death joy and pain.
The author with her light touch, faces
subjects like death and pain smoothly,
merging laughs, emotions and poetry, as she
believes that (as grandfather says): “You will
never die until someone keeps loving you and
until a cherry tree keeps growing for you”.
Mio nonno era un ciliegio
My Grandfather was A Cherry Tree
by Angela Nanetti
illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso
110 pp.
(Lo Scaffale d’oro – The golden shelf)
age 10 +
8
It may seem a romantic fin-du siecle novel,
instead it is the true and fascinating story of
the beautiful and well-educated Cristina
Trivulzio of the most wealthy family of 19th
century Milan.
It’s 1828 and Cristina Belgioioso, twenty age,
goes far from Milan and from her husband
who betraies her: she prefers exile. By then
her life is full of events: from drawing-rooms
of Paris to barricades of Milan, from Rome to
Turkey and Jerusalem, she travels and meets
conspirators, revolutionaries, artists and
statesmen. She is beautiful and cultured,
writes essays, launches magazines and
manages feuds where she tries to help her
farmers. But always she struggles for her
Country, Italy.
The highly perceptive Angela Nanetti tells us
of her love, her bitter disappointments, her
faith, her patriotic fervour and her longings ,
superbly capturing the intensity of a true
heroine.
Cristina Belgioso, una principessa
italiana
Cristina Belgioioso, an Italian princess
by Angela Nanetti
illustrated by Grazia Nidasio
Trieste, EL, 2002
141 pp.
(Sirene – Sirens)
9
" That night the sky was full of stars. They
were so many, hiding the dark under the veil
of light, as if the moon was there. " The stars
can see me" thought Arno, his face pressed
against the window-pane...
The stars are the eyes of the sky - Myriam
was saying - the moon is its mouth and the
sun is its crown. And the comets ? What were
the comets ?..."
This slightly romantic and poetic story of a
search for identity, set vaguely in the East,
recalls stories by Singer. Arno, the main
character, is a ten-year-old boy who lives in a
small village with his mother Myriam and his
little brother. He has a dream: he would like
to know who his father is. Why does the
village baker show such a deep interest in
his family? Who is that old man with a
mysterious past who lives in the woods and
says he grows comets? And where is his
father? To find the answers and to see
comets being born, it is necessary to learn to
be patient. But as the old man says: “We
cannot do without dreams, because only
dreams give a meaning to life.” In this lovely,
sweet story, rich in magic realism and
illustrated by Germano Ovani with fascinating
delicacy, Angela Nanetti shows how good she
is at reading children’s hearts.
L’uomo che coltivava le comete The Man
Who Grew Comets
by Angela Nanetti
illustrated by Germano Ovani
120 pages
(Il tesoro – The Treasure)
age 10+
10
Cristina Belgioso, an italian princess
Farewell, Milano!
It was still dark and chilly, the way only damp, early December mornings can be, when the
carriage left the stables, ambled up the avenue and stopped in front of the large staircase.
The coachman pulled on the reins, snapped a rebuke at the horses who were neighing
impatiently and then settled down to wait. He knew it might take a long time.
But for a single window on the first floor, the villa was plunged in darkness. Throughout the
night that dull light had kept filtering out intermittently through the curtains like a sleepless
eye. The man glanced at it and shook his head in sorrow. He had known the princess since
she was a little girl and had always felt a great affection for her. She really did not deserve
her misfortune.
Behind that large, lighted window, a young woman was sitting at a writing table with a letter
in her hands. She was wearing a black dress which set off and enhanced the pallor and
delicacy of her shoulders and, as her only ornament, had a dark red velvet ribbon around her
neck with a large cameo pinned in the middle.
There was a knock at the door and a maid in a travel dress peeped in holding a lamp.
“Madam, the carriage is ready and your luggage is being loaded. Your mother the marquise
has been notified and we are waiting for further instructions…”
“Just a minute, Adele” said the young lady without turning. While the maid was standing
respectfully on the threshold, she took the letter closer to the lamp: she had started it two
weeks before but had only managed to finish it that very night. So much for the immense
effort it had cost her.
Affori, December 1, 1828
Dearest Ernestina.
I am leaving. I’ll be staying in Genoa, at least for the time being. Since I am not going to
pass through Milan, I am afraid we shall not see each other for a long time. My marriage is
over. My husband has refused to choose between me and his mistress and suggested we
should rather live together in order to keep up appearances. Out of respect to myself as well
as to my title , I have decided however not to consent to his relationship with Mme. Ruga. So
now I am leaving this envious and malevolent town and bracing myself for a lonely future
but there really was no other way to reconcile my dignity with my heart.
Yours affectionately,
Cristina.
After reading the letter, the young woman sighed, sealed it and rose. She was tall and slim,
long-necked and with raven tresses delicately framing her face. What was really impressive
of her were her enormous, pitch-black eyes and her proud, although slightly sick
appearance.
“Take it to Mrs. Bisi” She ordered
The maid left only to come back shortly after.
“Let us go now!”
A dark velvet cloak was wound round her, then she put on a wide-brimmed hat with a
menacing-looking feather on it and went out. Her mother was waiting for her in the loggia
which was lit up by torches and guarded by the busts of her ancestors. She was wearing a
dressing gown which revealed, rather than concealed her full, round figure.
They embraced tightly.
“When shall we see us again, Cristina?”
She bowed her head.
“Give all my love to my brother and sisters and kiss them for me.”
Lady Vittoria sobbed softly but checked herself immediately: her servants were watching her.
“Farewell, my daughter, take care of yourself!”
Her carriage was waiting for her outside. Once settled on the soft cushions, with her maid
beside her, her footman and the cook sitting on the box next to the coach-man, Cristina
glanced one last time at the villa where she had spent part of her childhood. In the darkness,
the glow of the torches held by the servants seemed to creep up the staircase and the facade
like the light produced by a fire.
Wasn’t it the same with her? Wasn’t her whole past burning down at her departure? And
what about the future? What good could it possibly have in store for her?
11
Cristina Belgioso, an italian princess
She felt immensely tired and lonesome. How she wished she had Ernesta by her side, her
dearest, her only true friend. What a relief it would be to be able to cry in her arms. But a
Trivulzio woman does not cry, ever, this she had been taught from the very first. But then at
least to be able to open her heart to her and together to bring back the sweet memory of the
time when she had told her of her first chance meeting with Emilio, the tremendously
attractive Emilio who had seemed to her, a fifteen-year-old débutante in Milan high- society,
so hopelessly out of reach.
“He came in and captured every woman’s attention” She had told Ernesta. “And when he
began to sing Mme. D’Adda almost swooned away. As for me, Ernesta, I have sworn that my
heart shall belong to him alone. Even if he hardly glanced at me, and in spite of his terrible
reputation… I am going to win his heart and he ‘ll change and everybody will know him only
for his patriotic fervour, for what he is, indeed…
How fervently convincing she had sounded that time!
And Ernesta had encouraged her to follow her love and then sided with her against her whole
family
“I’d rather become a nun than marry my cousin Giorgio! I am sorry for uncle Gian Giacomo
who has always been kind to me, but as for his son, that lanky nitwit… Never! ”
This she had told Ernesta one summer afternoon while they were painting together under the
lime-trees at Affori. And she had ended by claiming her right to obey her heart which crazily
longed for him and him alone, the handsome, the reckless Emilio Belgioioso!
The carriage was moving now along a country road in the grey light of the winter morning.
Hardly glimpsed fields and ghost-like trees seemed to be Cristina’s only travellingcompanions. The maid had dozed off and she could hear the coach-man grumble at the
horses from the box . How she longed for sleep! Her memories however did not leave her
alone, and kept gnawing at her poor brain which only wanted to rest.
Marriage had come eventually, and so surprisingly soon that on her wedding day everything
had seemed to her utterly unreal, a sort of dream: the church of S. Fedele, crowded with
white-clad ladies and gentlemen, the heavy scent of orange blossoms and gardenias which
had made her dizzy… Emilio had yielded to her almost at once, and this of course had made
her very proud…. She had not allowed herself to be upset not even by the cruel poem she
had received from Count Crivelli on the very eve of her wedding. Just malice – she had
thought – probably inspired by her enemy, aunt Beatrice Trivulzio. Instead it had proved
tremendously prophetic:
“….his pleasure having reaped from thee, other beauties he soon will see “…
How long had lasted their happiness, her happiness? With hindsight it seemed indeed quite
short-lived. To think of those malicious rumours, for ever haunting her, about maids,
courtesans, ballerinas and the like… He never seemed satisfied… It made her sick… those
terrible headaches…and he having his love affairs all over the town. Of course she too liked
flirting but for her it had always been just curiosity, a sort of merry game and nothing else….
He instead… Until he met that woman, Margherita Ruga, whom he was soon to force upon
her at the thermal resort. “To keep you company “ He had said. But of course it was only a
very convenient way better to enjoy her favours .
.
12
The man who grew comets
Arno is nine years old and lives with his mother Myriam and his younger brother Bruno in a
shabby hut on the outskirts of a village. Myriam is an unmarried mother and she got Arno
when she was very young, only fifteen. As a new-born baby, her father Zoltan, an itinerant
puppeteer, had left her for a while to old Nenele, a woman who lived in Arno’s hut and bred
sheep. But Zoltan had not come back to take his daughter and Nenele had kept her, bringing
her up with love and feeding her with imaginary tales. Nenele’s world, originating from a
shepherds’ culture, is inhabited by fairies living in the woods and in the trees and by magical
beings, but is by no means frightening. Nenele talks to Myriam about her dead mother, who
lives in Uriano’s marvellous castle; one day she will also go and live there, but she hopes to
live long enough to see Myriam grow up and get ready for life. Despite her wishes, Nenele
suddenly dies of pneumonia and leaves Myriam alone and unprepared. Myriam has loved
music and dance very much since she was a small child, and Nenele complied with this
passion by often taking her to the fairs in the nearby villages. Having remained alone,
Myriam faces her situation with Nenele’s heritage: she looks after the sheep and keeps the
fire burning for her, since she knows that Nenele will thus be able to come back and protect
the hut; then, when the fairs take place again, she starts going to each one. In the autumn
she realises that she’s expecting a child, and she welcomes it as a gift from Nenele, who has
tried to soothe her loneliness in this way. When Arno is born, Florica, the village midwife who
has helped her, suggests her to give her child to the baker Lorenz and his wife, who have no
children and would be glad to adopt this one. But Myriam refuses, despite the midwife’s
pressures and disapproval.
Some days later, Myriam asks the baker if she can work for him as a servant and the baker
accepts her. So she goes down to the village every day with her child in her arms and works
at the bakery even when the baker’s wife dies. But one day Myriam gets pregnant again and
the baker throws her out. Arno is about five years old when his brother Bruno is born, and
after the birth she goes back to Lorenz with her two children, asking him to let her work
again. Lorenz, who is not indifferent to Myriam’s Beauty and youth, accepts and life seems to
restart again as usual.
Myriam has something childish and wild in her character, and the village cannot accept it,
she is free and proud, is keen on dancing and goes back home very late leaving her children
alone. But she really loves them, she works hard for them, looks after them and like Nenele
she feeds them with bread and tales – real and imaginary. She has told them about a father
who has lived far away for years, working in a cold and dangerous region where he is
building a road, and every year at Christmas Arno and Bruno get a letter from him, in which
he informs them about his situation, promising to come back soon and sending some money.
Arno, whose sensitive and imaginative character is very different from Bruno’s, has been
waiting for years for his father to come back, and when his teacher tells him about a comet
due to arrive soon, he starts waiting for it impatiently. He is sure that, as Myriam has told
him several times, stars can make wishes come true when someone sees them for the first
time. So Arno waits every night for the comet leaning out of the window so as to be the first
one who sees it and to utter his wish: it is actually Christmas time and he has received a
letter from his father just as every year. This one is a bit different from the others, though,
and he is worried, because it suggests the possibility that he would never come back.
Therefore, Arno waits for the comet with greater impatience and lets mister Lorenz read the
letter; the baker is happy about what he reads, since the letter suggests the child to rely on
Lorenz and always to count on his help.
But Arno refuses to accept that his father might not come back and when, for a number of
reasons, he finds out at school that the comet is already visible in the sky and that he has
not noticed it, he goes through a deep crisis. Myriam reassures him and he starts looking for
the comet again, but in those days the sky gets clouded and it starts to snow, so the children
go out to play and get cold. Arno gets seriously ill and Myriam saves him. While he is
healing, he asks his mother to tell him the story he has heard so many times about her
meeting his father Horia at a feast while he was playing, about her falling in love with him
and him marrying her one night, before leaving for that remote place. When Arno gets
better, Myriam goes back to work and brings her children food and presents from mister
Lorenz. Arno feels that there is something odd in his mother’s behaviour and gets worried,
but finally one evening the sky gets clear and he can see the comet, so he wishes his father
to come back.
13
When Arno heals, mister Lorenz invites them all to celebrate at lunch; Myriam accepts and
Bruno is happy, but Arno is reluctant, feeling that something in the relationship between his
mother and Lorenz is changing. The meal is very good and the baker’s house is impressive:
mister Lorenz is actually well off and besides being the baker he is also the village’s mayor.
The quiet atmosphere is disturbed by the compliments he expresses to Myriam and by Arno
asking Lorenz to correct the letter he has written to his father. The man answers rudely,
even brutally, and the lunch ends with an uneasy atmosphere. Nevertheless, Myriam accepts
to have lunch every day at the bakery with her children despite Arno’s opinion.
Meanwhile February has come, the snow has melted and Arno goes to Ilia, an old man who
owns a ram, to have the sheep made pregnant. Walking through the wood, the boy sees that
a long abandoned hut, which is said to be haunted, is inhabited. He talks about it at lunch
and mister Lorenz says that a foreigner has arrived in the village, that he is living in the hut
and that he might be dangerous. He therefore orders the children not to go there. But Arno
silently rebels: lately he has not been much able to stand the new baker’s behaviour,
protective towards his mother and authoritative towards him. Myriam looks changed too,
more similar to the village women than to the free girl she once was, and Arno gets more
and more worried. He keeps firmly waiting for his father to come back and responds with a
silent refusal and with lies to Lorenz’s orders. So he secretly goes to the hut, where he meets
the mysterious man, who strikes him deeply. The man tells him that he has a comet seed an
old man once gave him and that he has visited many places trying to find the right spot for
planting it. But he has always failed: due to his impatience, because he could not wait. Now
he thinks he has found the right place and is going to stop there and wait as long as needed;
afterwards, when the comet is born, he will leave again. Arno asks him if he can go there in
the night when he plants the comet seed and he agrees. So on the right night Arno secretly
goes to the hut and watches the sowing, then he awaits dawn together with the man who
finally brings him home. But on the following day Myriam, who has been awake and worried,
reveals the whole story to mister Lorenz. In the morning Arno, feeling absolutely restless,
does not go to school, and when mister Lorenz finds that out he reproaches the boy strictly,
bringing up his visit to the stranger. When Arno rebels and shouts that he is not his father
and has no authority over him, Lorenz loses control e reveals him the truth: Arno has no
father, and neither does Bruno. His mother has told them a nice story, in the naive belief
that she could thus satisfy their need of a father; it was him who would write the letters
every year to please her and the money was his, because he has always looked after them
and now wants to marry Myriam.
Arno is shocked and runs through the village going to hide in the hut in the wood, where the
man welcomes and soothes him and tells him about a man who used to live in a far away
country, where time had stopped and it was always springtime. All the inhabitants of that
country used to be happy and lived with no wishes in an eternal present, while the man was
desperate because he was the only one who kept a memory of time, of the period when the
sun would move and set day by day. That man wished to see the starscape more than
anything else and therefore he left for a long journey towards the unknown, accepting the
certainty that when he would go back to the time passing he would get old and die, but that
he would also be able to love and have a child. When he finishes telling his tale, Arno asks
him if he can call him Horia, the name of the father he has not had, and he agrees.
Meanwhile Myriam arrives in desperation at the hut, but Arno refuses to see her. He will go
back home on the following day, but the relationship with his mother seems definitely
damaged. He feels very hurt and thinks he cannot forgive her, even if Myriam has decided to
break off with Lorenz, to give up her job at the bakery and to start with a new tiring job at a
far away farm, where she goes every morning together with Bruno.
Arno stays alone at home, he goes to school and keeps visiting the man in the wood and
slowly, without noticing it, his pain heals. So does the relationship with Myriam. One day she
gets hurt while working with a sickle and must stay in bed: the man in the wood pays her
some visits and gradually they develop a friendship. He offers to repair their hut, which is
crumbling, and to do some more work for them, and while Myriam is healing her joy comes
back together with her health. Thus the small family gets together again and one night, while
they are lying on a meadow, they see a light rising from the wood towards the sky: the
comet has blossomed. They all gloomy think that the man will go away, but on the following
morning Arno and Bruno find him in the kitchen together with Myriam and he stays with
them ever after. When the summer ends, the man announces to Arno that Myriam will bear
14
another brother and that he will never leave, because he has found what he was looking for.
The children are very happy, but in the village the people start saying that Myriam is
expecting a new baby from the stranger and, being stirred up by mister Lorenz, they despise
her. So they set fire to the hut in the wood and the day after they go to Myriam’s hut to
destroy it. But they cannot find anybody: during the night the mysterious man and his family
have gone away leaving only a jug with a wonderful and unknown flower that will never
wither.
With this story Angela Nanetti shows once again her great sensitivity in interpreting the
children's universe, in telling the worries and the wishes, the success and the disappointment
that light up or veil children's eyes; a silent delicacy hides in her paintings of the skies
waiting for the comet, and a quiet tenderness is spread in the whole book, that, thanks to
the extraordinary and moving drawings by Germano Ovani, gives the young and adult
readers a strong and light message: the most important discoveries are those that come
about inside, that are produced by inner experience, that pass through the curious and clear
eyes of childhood.
15
reviews of the books sent to the juriors
Adalberto's memories
In the story you don't find extraordinary events, but the every day ones: from a football
match to a medical exam by a young and fair doctor, from the first black eye because of the
fightings with his friend to the first porno magazine…
It's unusual to find such a pleasant and amusing book, with the advantage that it may
become a very good topic of meeting and discussion with your own son.
Roberto Denti, L'Unita' - July 26th 1984
Angeli – Angels
Angels are not the same: there are those who deliver messages and those who protect
children, those who play an instrument and those who praise the Lord. But who has ever
heard of angels who are collectors? His is the graceful and slightly mysterious introduction to
one of Angela nanetti’s short stories unusual and amazing tales, light as feathes falling from
the sky.
Fiorella Iannucci, Il messaggero, December 14th 1999
The book, beautifully illustrated by Fausto Bianchi, is published by inaudi. There are childrenangels and statue-angels, disobedient angels and guardian angels. There are fifteen nice
angels with enough humanity to be able to understand people and help them with their
dreams in 15 stories that are poetic and fantastic, “sugary sweet” and ethereal.
Aurora Marsotto, Il Sole 24ore, November 7th 1999
My grandfather was a cherry tree
Fifteen stories light, unexpected, surprising as feathers lost in flight. There is the stone angel
"with no wings and with a cut off finger ", standing still on the rose window of a cathedral;
the guard angel who leaves the garden door unattended to follow the little acrobat of a
circus; the angel painted on a picture kept in a museum... Angels who tell children aged 8 or
over about beauty, sympathy, cruelty, poetry: that's to say the eternal history of mankind.
Fiorella Iannucci, Il Messaggero, 14/12/99 "
Cristina Belgioioso, una principessa italiana
Cristina Belgioioso, an Italian princess
"Angela Nanetti gives us a brilliant and exemplary biography of this complex and
unconventional personage."
Walter Forchesato, Andersen - November 2002
"And you read the biography of " Cristina Belgioioso, an Italian princess": like a marvellous
but also real adventure: it is the extraordinary life of a " p a s i o n a r i a " of our
Risorgimento.
Il sole 24ore, December 22nd 2002
L’uomo che coltivava le comete
"As a matter of fact beautiful books remain and sometimes more are added. The surprise of
this Christmas is " The man who grew comets " by Angela Nanetti…"
Elena Baroncini, Il Sole 24ore, December 22nd 2002
Angela Nanetti is a sophisticaterd and stilistically controlled writer. Her poetic language never
falls into the trap of being over delicate thaks to her internse and very moving stories. She
16
reviews of the books sent to the juriors
writes of children who dream, of stars which race through the sky, and of mothers who
dance till dawn.
She also tells the story of arno, aged 10, waiting for his father who he has never met to
return, of his mother who has attracted the interest of a wealthy local man, of the villagers
who are intolerant towards arno,s family because of their difference and anticonformism, and
of a mysterious and fascinating man wh arrives in the village. She also tells of her characters
stubbornsearch for peace and even happiness… Ovani’s engaging illustrations seem to refer
to a sort of pagan concept of nature, while the landscape which is portrayed has a central
Europe flavour.
Fernando Rotundo, L’indice dei libri del mese, February 2003
17
other important titles
Cambio di stagione
Change of season
Trieste, EL, 1988
(EX LIBRIS)
age 13+
Guardare l’ombra
Looking at the shadow
Trieste, EL, 1990
(EX LIBRIS)
age 13+
I randagi
The stray
Trieste, EL, 1999
(Frontiere)
age 15+
A striking love story ? A
street accident ? A juvenile
crisis ? On the background of
a small town of province, a
teen-ager finds out his own
dimension of life tragically...
A novel led by a passionate
sensibility
for
modern
condition, a novel developing
as a keen reconstruction "
from
the
core
of
the
inevitable conflict between
parents and children".
She had let herself lying
down on the grass.
Nothing else had happened,
they had kept on kissing and
soon after they had left.
But for years, even when
their tie had finished, she had
kept the memory of that
night, so vivid that
it gave her the impression of
a colour, to make her
perceive a perfume or the
feeling of a kiss.
Who knows if Ines would be
able to remember, in the
future, the bank of the river
and the smell of hay without
shivering !
It's a short story, deliberately
short, I think.
And on the stream of
memory.
It's the synthetic, articulate
reconstruction of a longed for
trip turned into tragedy…
It's a dramatic, hard book,
also in the language which,
without falling in the common
and trite youth slang, has its
own
dry,
rough,
almost
"irritating" measure.
A language, on the other
hand, skilful in the pauses
and in some just hinted but
very
vivid
describing
digressions …
It's a painful book but
healthy, I think.
Walter
Forchesato
–
“Andersen” n. 156 - February
2000
18
other important titles
Veronica, ovvero i gatti
sono talmente imprendibili
Veronica, that's to say cats
Trieste, EMME, 1993
(Voltapagina)
age 8+
Mistero sull’isola
Mystery on the island
Trieste, EL 1999
(Le letture - Readings)
age 10+
Ofelia, vacci piano!
Ofelia , be careful
Trieste Einaudi ragazzi , 2001
(Storie e rime - Stories and
Rhymes)
Veronica is nine years old,
she has an unbearable sister,
a
marvellous
cat,
an
unfaithful boy-friend,
two almost ordinary parents,
the passion for bad words
and long words and she has
the habit of making " terrible
" decisions ...
Dario is 12 and lives with his
father who has a farm on an
island that is packed with
tourists for just two months
every year. His life is a bit
boring
and
lonely
but
suddenly gets complicated
when he sees two men
dragging a corpse wrapped in
a sheet on the beach …
This book is dedicated to all
the " young " who don't want
to surrender to grown-ups'
abuses.
They will certainly like the
heroic fight of the Olli family,
father, mother and Giasone,
and the extremely arrogant
and triumphant Bulldozer. But
the readers will also get to
know
a
girl
with
very
dangerous blue eyes and a
factotum driver who is called
Carmine -sole and drives an
oil-tanker car ...
19
list of translated editions, and their languages
Le memorie di Adalberto - Adalberto’s memories
Published in:
ITALY - PORTUGAL - SPAIN - FRANCE - ALBANIA
Cambio di stagione - Change of season
Published in:
ITALY - SPAIN - PORTUGAL - GERMANY - HUNGARY
Veronica ovvero i gatti sono talmente imprendibili! – Veronica, that’s to say cats
Published in:
ITALY - GERMANY
Mio nonno era un ciliegio – My grandfather was a cherry tree
Published in:
ITALY - SPAIN - GERMANY - JAPAN - NETHERLANDS - HUNGARY
COREA - HONG KONG - TAIWAN - LITHUANIA - THAILAND
Angeli – Angels
Published in:
ITALY - GERMANY - THAILAND
L’uomo che coltivava le comete – The man who grew comets
Published in:
TAIWAN - HONG KONG
20
list of awards and other distinctions
Angela Nanetti is honorary member of the National Union of Italian Writers and Artists
(Rome – Italy) and representative of clear fame and excellence of the italian and european
writers and artists (Rome –Italy)
Adalberto’s Memories
Prizes and rewards:
Honour List X European prize of Literature for young people P. Paolo Vergerio 1984 - UE
Andersen Prize " Bay of Fairy Tales" 1985 - Italy
Prize "L'ete' du Livre" Metz (FR) 1993 - France
Veronica, ovvero, I gatti sono talmente imprevedibili!
Veronica, that’s so to say cats are so unpredictable
Prizes and rewards:
Finalist at the Prize a book for the summer 1993 - Italy
Silver Palm at the Humour meeting in Bordighera 1993 - Italy
Valtenesi Prize Fiction for children 1994 - Italy
Honour List I.B.B.Y.(International Board on Books for Young People - Basel) Seville 1994 Spain
Prize the Pleasure of reading 1994 - 95 - Library system of Bassa Modenese - Italy
My grandfather was a cherry tree
Prizes and rewards:
Finalist Sardinia Prize, Olzai (Nu) 1998 - Italy.
Prize Cento di Ferrara (Fe) 1998 - Italy. Piero Manni Calimera (Le) 1998 - Italy.
G. Giulitto, Bitritto (Ba) 1998 - Italy. Città di Penne (Pe) 1998 - Italy. Jury of Bancarellino
1999 - Italy.
Children's jury - Prize "Pippi Calzelunghe" Casalecchio di Reno (Bo) 2000 - Italy. Library of
Massa Marittima (Gr) 2000 - Italy.
Prize "The world saved by children" Elsa Morante Procida (Na) 2000 - Italy.
Finalist at "Deutsche Jugenliteratupreis" 2002.
Book exibition in Frankfort - Germany.
Randagi
The stray
Prizes and Rewards:
Andersen Prize 2000 - Italy
National Andersen Prize 2003 (Sestri Levante – Italy) as best writer
21
appreciative essays, interviews and articles
Premio Andersen 2003. Miglior autore: Angela Nanetti, a cura di B. Schiaffino, W.
Fochesato, Andersen: il mondo dell’infanzia. Libri & idee – scuola & biblioteca,
193/2003
Andersen prize 2003. Best Author: Angela Nanetti, edited by B. Schiaffino, W.
Fochesato, Andersen: il mondo dell’infanzia. Libri & idee – scuola & biblioteca,
193/2003
Angela Nanetti first came to notice in 1984 when Le memorie di Adalberto was published by
Edizione El – the publisher she has remained loyal to ever since. Here it is not my intention
to go over the complete history and content of this book. Although it was published some
time ago, it still has a very fresh quality and present day significance. It also shows clearly
how children’s literature was changing. All the more pity then that recent studies of
published works have not recognised this fact or worse still have deliberately ignored it.
The story follows the simple and amusing adventures of a clumsy young boy called Adalberto
who moves from a private school to a state school. The book stood out because of its original
setting, lively language and distinctive narrative voice. The story surprised its readers and
also caused some shock as it speaks in a light and humorous way about sex or, to be more
precise, of an inquisitiveness about sex.
About in the same period other volumes were published, again part of the series Le letture,
heralding innovations, such as Quell’estate al castello (The summer in the castle) by Draghi
or L’incredibile storia di Lavinia (The incredibile story of Lavinia) by Pitzorno.
It is not the first time that Angela has received the Andersen Prize but this time the award
was given specifically for her complete works, in recognition of the achievement in being able
to maintain a consistently high standard throughout her twenty published titles. Above all it
rewards the sheer quality of her writing which has always been precise, eloquent, stylish and
engaging. Whilst some works are less dense and lighter in tone the same characteristic are
always evident, and they have a very assured quality whatever the genre or type of story.
Another significant aspect of her work which must be highlighted is her ability to switch
between diverse writing styles. When many other excellent writers try to change in this way
the result are often unconvincing and disappointing. Nanetti is different. From the
entertaining and clever irony expressed in the adventure of Adalberto e Veronica, Nanetti has
gone on to write angry and challenging novels such as Guardare l’ombra (Watching the
shadow) or, more recently, in the more restrained I randagi (The strays). She can also
diversify from the bright and fantastic tone of Federico e il trombone (Federico and the
trombone) to the chronicle-like Rosaroserose, which seems to contain more autobiographical
references. Finally we have the works that perhaps displays a more poetic sensibility, as in
the ethereal gracefulness of L’uomo che coltivava le comete (The man who grew comets)
and the elegant study of Cristina Belgioioso. Una principessa italiana (Cristina Belgioioso. An
Italian princess), which blends fact with fiction to demonstrate how a well written historical
biography can engage the reader.
22
Wer hat schon einen Baum als Großvater? by Rita
Braun, Bulletin Literatur, 4/2001
23
Wer stirbt, ist niemals wirklick fort
Anrührendes Kinderbuch – nicht nur über den Tod, by
Maren Bonacker, Eselsohr, 5/2001
24
Una volta bambini
La scrittrice Angela Nanetti ci racconta come nascono i suoi libri, by
Paola Basti, La Piazza di Ortona, March 29th 2003
25

Angela Nanetti - Biblioteca Salaborsa

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