«The apartment, on the fourth floor, was wonderful. (…) The room overlooked a church. Under all the windows opened the familiar, beloved Italian geometric network of alleys that opened up in a sigh of relief into the square.” It’s the apartment, «near the flea market. Two minutes from via Garibaldi», in which the last of the 20 stories is set Tiesthe collection that Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo, 53 years old, presents a national preview at the Book Fair. It was published by Feltrinelli Gramma, the new publishing imprint to which Nevo switched after having published all his previous novels with Neri Pozza, including great successes such as The symmetry of desires (2012) e Three floors (2017), from which Nanni Moretti based his film. The apartment described, in Piazza Emanuele Filiberto, is also where Nevo, often accompanied by his wife and three daughters, stays when he comes to town to teach at the Holden School. «It is the center of my Turin, the one I love: the market, the Balôn, the tobacconist, the minimarket where they know me and greet me… There is a whole world around to discover. And I’m lucky enough to be able to do it. No hurry”.
How did the story «Campane» come about?
«It’s the fault, or credit, of the bells of the nearby church, which drove me crazy from the first night. One chime, two chimes, three chimes and so on. Nightly. I felt like I wanted to resolve the issue… As a Jew I don’t go to church, so it seemed like a good idea to go and talk to the priest. In front of his confessional there was a long queue of sinners waiting and I soon changed my mind… Not so my protagonist, who instead goes to the priest and so the story Bells begins. Which I immediately considered the perfect story to close my book. And it is also a sign of my love for Turin.”
Was it love at first sight?
«I would say a love born gradually, but very quickly. In 2007 I was an unknown writer and on the morning of my first presentation at the Book Fair, I didn’t even wake up in time… But then in 2011 I started collaborating with Holden, one of the best schools in Europe, and for some year I teach there for long periods twice a year. And from falling in love with Turin I have definitively moved on to true love… I have no doubt about which is the best city in Italy. Here I feel as if I return home every time, thanks above all to my friends, but also to the people I meet in the shops and who use those expressions that I like so much, like “Dunno!”, “Come on”…».
A love shared by his family, right?
«Each member has his preference. Yarra, my second, loves Balôn. Amalia via Garibaldi, Lila via Roma, my wife Anat the Valentino Park. And all together we go to relax in a cafe along the river. And all thanks to Holden. On the model of this magnificent institution I founded my school in Israel, in which to create, write, but with joy and fun.”
How does he live in the city and what are his favorite places?
«It is here in Turin that last October 2nd I started jogging, every morning except Friday, and I have never stopped. I especially love running early in the morning in via Garibaldi, before the shops open. Then I go back to take a shower, I go down to the square to drink my “long coffee” (he says it in Italian, ed.), I go to the market, or to teach, or I write… Here I have found my favorite restaurants in the world. The best: the Ristò in via Bertola, with its appetizers, risottos and sous chef Armando. And then Gallina for fish, in the wonderful heart of Porta Palazzo. Not even in my hometown do I have so many favorite places…”.
How do you look at Italy when you are in Israel, especially in these difficult times?
«When the war broke out, last October, we were here in Turin. But we wanted to return to our wounded country, to our community. But I soon realized that Turin is my second homeland, the place I think of to find energy again. I feel lucky, because many writers in the world don’t have a country to live in, I have two. Turin is my refuge.”
