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“Le ombre delle verità svelate” by Giovanni Margarone. Review by Tiziana Viganò
Review by Tiziana Viganò
already published on
https://www.sololibri.net/Le-ombre-delle-verita-svelate-Margarone.html
Three protagonists for three stories that run parallel in three distant places in Italy: only in the end will they intertwine thanks to the truth, which, hidden for a lifetime, will finally be revealed. Its shadow is as long as the existence of Gianni, Luigi and Costanza, who know well the pain and torment of lack, separation and mourning, but also the happiness of redemption, love and solidarity. What binds these three characters so different from each other? What is the secret so long hidden that will make them meet in the end?
Gianni Aprile – the surname of a month, as it was traditionally given to orphans – is a Sicilian child who grows up in an orphanage, afflicted by a perennial sense of abandonment and solitude that will never leave him. He has a precious gift, the ability to paint that will bring him, from a potter’s workshop in Caltagirone, through emigration to Turin and an initial factory job, to achieve success in Dublin. He will become famous and find love in Chiara, a girl from the good Turin bourgeoisie who will love him against any racist idea of the family. He is the narrative ego of “The shadows of the revealed truths” by Giovanni Margarone, the character who opens his restless soul and tells us about his troubled life, yes, but also illuminated by friendships, esteem and love that will support him in the moments difficult.
Luigi Bruno is a boy from the North sent to fight in Sicily in 1943, just occupied by allied troops: having found refuge in a family he will find a sweet and passionate love with Maria, who, however, will have to leave at the end of the war to return to Piedmont and recover the family farm. Acute, cunning and unscrupulous, he will become a wealthy entrepreneur, but loved by no one, not even by his family, and will arrive at the point of death with the sole proximity of the accountant of the company.
Costanza, a young woman of peasant extraction, with strong family values, will see her peaceful and happy life upset by the 1976 earthquake, but also the recovery of life and feelings that time and love are capable of giving.
The three lives immerse the reader in the daily history of Italy from the forties-fifties to today and demonstrate the strength of mind with which the Italians fought to get out of the destruction after the war.
The difficulties of an orphan in an institution, the living and working conditions of immigrants from the south in an industrial city like Turin, the lively artistic interest of Dublin in the part narrated in first person by Gianni. Sicily during the war years and the tiring peace, Caltagirone and Cuneo, the economic boom of the following years, factory work and the rise of small industrialists in Luigi’s story; peasant life and the tragedy of the earthquake in Gemona, which destroyed many villages in Friuli without ever bending the strong soul of that people in the part dedicated to Constance.
There are many scenarios that open and therefore the description of the Italian natural and urban landscapes is the background of the events and enriches the narrative: with the writer we travel the peninsula from North to South on a great journey through time and places of memory.
The narration runs pleasantly, alternating the voices and events of the three protagonists: the author pauses to fathom the emotions and torments of the heart, going deep into their personality to make them feel alive and real, close to the reader. Great value of Giovanni Margarone having inserted the three stories in a detailed and realistic context. The result is a large-scale historical fresco that teaches younger readers and revives the past for those who lived it.
The positive attitude of the writer is transmitted in every affair: from pain and difficulties it is always possible to re-emerge stronger and renewed, with a wealth of experiences to be used and given to others, a positive message that makes this book enjoyable from first to the last page.
Title: Le ombre delle verità svelate
Author: Giovanni Margarone
Category: Italian fiction
Publisher: Kimerik, 2018
GIOVANNI MARGARONE 
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