Post honen idazlea: Slawka Grabowska
Summer has finally arrived! And despite the fact that literary gatherings organized by libraries stop, I hope you all continue reading. In these months of heat and travel, many of you opt for shorter, lighter books than usual, but some of you are also encouraged to try something new. And that’s why, for three days this week, I have a series of recommendations for you in each of these “categories”. Here 
goes the first one:
Los sorrentinos, Virginia Higa
Sigilo, 2018
147 or.
ISBN 978-84-948993-1-7
Post hau ingelesez dago.
This novel is both short and very summery: Los sorrentinos de Virginia Higa has only 147 pages and is set in Mar del Plata in Argentina. The author tells us the story of a family of Italian immigrants from Sorrento, owners of a trattoria near the beach. What she describes is based on her own relatives, very similar to a thousand other families of emigrants, but with one thing that distinguishes them: they are the ones who invented the sorrentinos, a stuffed pasta that is very popular throughout Argentina and is unfairly confused by some with ravioli.
The main character and the centre of the book is Chiche Vespolini, the patriarch of the family. But the story jumps from one time to another, from one character to another and finally we meet the whole family. We discover how they arrived in Mar del Plata more than a century ago, how the sorrentinos began to sell, how the trattoria ended up in the hands of Chiche. Brothers, uncles, nephews, lovers and enemies. Before our eyes parade endless characters full of life, with their dreams and disappointments. The love of their homeland is mixed with the love of food. The whole life of the clan revolves around the family business. And yet, it cannot be said that it is a typical family saga. Perhaps a study of relationships in a family? Or of an individual’s place within a family clan?
Those of you who have read Natalia Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon will easily recognize what has been one of Virginia Higa’s inspirations. Los sorrentinos use a very peculiar lexicon, a type of familiar jargon, we find expressions that make sense only for the Vespolini. Language is a kind of code for the family, it reveals their values and what they appreciate in life. All this with a touch of humor that contrasts with each of the sad facts presented. In the end, no family is free from misfortune.
The book was published in Spain in 2018 by the Sigilo publishing house and because of its length, but also because of the proximity of the sea and that great travel from Italy to Argentina, it seems perfect for a quick summer read. Be careful not to read it on an empty stomach!