Where and when
Bernardo Zannoni, winner of the Campiello Prize 2022, will be a guest at the Museo Novecento on Friday 9 September at 6:00 pm, as part of the Intemporanea literary review. With his debut novel, My stupid intentions (Sellerio), at the age of 27 Zannoni is the youngest winner of the Campiello Prize with a book starring Archy, a weasel with words.
“It is an animal little used by writers”, explains the author in an interview, “I could outline it as I pleased, it was also a way to pay homage to a nerd animal”.
The novel tells of the long life of a stone marten, told in his own hand. Among the trees of the woods, the grassy hills, the underground dens and the countryside subdued by man, the story of an animal different from all is revealed. Archy was born one winter night, together with his brothers: their mother was killed by their partner, and she finds herself having to raise them alone. The animals in this book talk, use plates for food, crockery, tables, beds, light fires, but their world remains a tough and ruthless struggle for survival, just like nature is. They are moved by necessity and instinct, the strongest dominates and the loser must make do. It is precisely by sensing the weakness of the son that the mother exchanges Archy for a hen and a half. His new master is called Solomon, and he is an old fox full of secrets, who lives on top of a hill. These changes will upset Archy’s life: the stolen loves, the daily cruelty of living, the present and past times will manifest themselves in his eyes with incredible force. Between terror and wonder, with the relentless passing of the seasons and the goad of new desires, mysteries and secrets will open up between its paws. Archy will be less and less animal, a silent miracle in the forests, an anomaly. In contrast, among the pages of this book, the miracle of an enthralling narrative, which accompanies the reader in a dimension that is no longer human, precisely when it confronts him with the essential questions of our being men and women.
My Stupid Intent is an ambitious and clear novel, and was written by a boy of only twenty-five. As a sign of hope, of the future, for those who live by books.
The presentation is part of the fourth edition of the Intemporanea literary review, directed by Pinangelo Marino, and aimed at presenting leading authors and authors from the world of culture through a series of meetings. With previews, conferences and readings, the event takes place widely in various cultural venues in the city throughout the month of September 2022.
Bernardo Zannoni
(1995) was born and lives in Sarzana. This is his first novel. This is the long story of a stone marten, told in his own hand. Among the trees of the woods, the grassy hills, the underground dens and the countryside subdued by man, the story of an animal different from all is revealed. Archy was born one winter night, together with his brothers: their mother was killed by their partner, and she finds herself having to raise them alone.