The Passage of the Frog and the Wild Strawberries of 1942

THE PASSAGE OF THE FROG AND

THE WILD STRAWBERRIES OF 1942

Spanning several generations over the course of the twentieth century and set in the Italian post-Second World War scene The Passage of the Frog and the Wild Strawberries of 1942 maps the invisible passages and inner paths of the poor country peoples of the South (Campania, Basilicata regions). It is a tale of superstition, religion, tradition and beliefs, poverty and fate and a way of life that, in southern Italy at the time, involved few people being able to read or write. The novel traces the socio-cultural geography of a socially and politically depressed and psychologically diseased Southern Italy, involving the readers in a poetic and thorough analysis of the country, travelling both in space and time and ploughing deep into the conscience and memory (both personal and historical) of the characters. Life and places on the borders between the Basilicata and the Campania regions, as well as in many other adjacent regions such as Puglia, Calabria, are little known even to Italians: off the tourist tracks, far from the artistic tides, always on the giving hand of history, never on the receiving one. In this geographical and cultural harshness, faith is mingled with magic, love with exploitation, hunger with everything.

To Buy, click on your preferred link:

SBS Sydney Radio

Author interview