Writing about teenagers with Francesca Scotti and Fabio Geda
Insecurities, identities being rebuilt and reformed around new experiences and realities. Adolescence is a period that is as complex as it is fascinating, with a multiplicity of layers that are to be embraced and not trivialised. This was the theme of the event with Francesca Scotti, presenting her novel Ellissi, and Fabio Geda, introducing Anime Scalze. Francesca Scotti tells the tale of Erika and Vanessa: two friends, two teenagers on the verge of adulthood. They struggle with the inevitability of growing up in bodies that are constantly changing, which they would rather remain as they are. Fabio Geda, in his novel, introduces his readers to Ercole, a teenager forced to make choices without the answers that he wants and needs from the adults in his life.
Questions and answers - a theme that comes up continuously in the tales of Ercole, Erika and Vanessa. Adolescence, as the novels suggest time and time again, is the age of questioning and each person looks for answers in their own way. Erika and Vanessa try to gain control over their own bodies in a dangerous way: they stop eating. Ercole, on the other hand, is alone and tries to seeks his place in the world and the answers that he needs, in the midst of inattentive parents and an older sister. But what happens when the answers don't arrive? Is that the start of the road to rebellion?
It has never been easier to speak about adolescence. The two authors spoke about the genesis of their novels. For Fabio Geda, it was the recurrence in his mind of the image of spring, described in the first pages of his book. For Francesca Scotti, it was the recurrence of the number two, which represents the close bond between "a flower and a butterfly", as the names of the two protagonists suggest.
The story is inspired by reality. The themes discussed in the novels are well-known - eating disorders, for example, saw records numbers in Italy last year - and they open up a wider reflection on the complexity, contradictions and facets of adolescence. On fears, on experiences and on questions without answers.