«How nice to come back to Turin. I remember that in 2019, before a meeting at the School Holden, we had dinner in a wonderful place in the Balôn area. I love this city and I especially love its slightly eccentric places like the Lombroso Museum. From the Garnier Valletti Fruit Museum I jealously guard the reproduction of a pear, one of my favorite souvenirs.” David Nicholls, 57, is one of the greats of British literaturescreenwriter and author of enormously successful novels such as One day (which was made into a film and television series One day on Netflix). With her romantic and witty stories, she knows how to keep the audience captivated. His is therefore highly anticipated return to the Book Fair (Saturday 11 May) with his recent novel You are here (Neri Pozza, translation by Scilla Forti).
«A love story, of course», he explains, «which talks about ageing, about the city and the countryside, about loneliness and fear of the future… But it is also a comedy, I assure you». Marnie is 38 years old and feels like her life is slipping through her fingers. Michael is 42 and doesn’t know how to put the pieces of his life back together. Until they meet…
Loneliness seems to be a common characteristic of many thirty/forty year olds today.
«In the novel I address the difference between solitude as a state that we sometimes desire and savor, and which has a value in itself, and solitude which is instead difficult to bear. Both protagonists find themselves unexpectedly alone at a time when they expected to be surrounded by friends and family, and that can be difficult, I think. But I don’t want to paint life alone as something unusual or unhappy. There are also many pleasant aspects…”.
You are here also seems like a hymn to hope. Is there a need for optimism in these difficult and even dramatic times for some?
«In the book I only mention the pandemic, but it is clear to everyone that these are truly dark years and literature must deal with them. However, it is true that we all need hope and joy, and this novel of mine is certainly a celebration of the joy of communication, openness and sharing. I don’t think I’m good at writing consoling and completely unambiguous endings, but this is perhaps the most optimistic novel I’ve ever written.”
Is this what you are looking for too, as a reader or viewer?
«I love art and music, theatre, cinema and television, but there is something deeply engaging and private in reading, a particular pleasure. I like empathy, the sense of mirroring that I find in a novel, the feeling of “I know how it feels”».
How different is writing for film and television?
«The substantial point is that writing fiction is a deeply personal and solitary act, while screenplays are the result of collaboration and an extremely pragmatic process. A screenplay isn’t literature, it’s an instruction manual for something that can be shot an infinite number of ways. For someone like me who has to transpose from paper to screen, the most difficult thing is the interior monologues, which are impossible to convey in images.”
How much does reading a book satisfy you, and how much does watching a film or TV series satisfy you?
«I really can’t imagine a day without reading or watching something on the screen. I have no preference between the two means, and I realize that I adopt similar, very rigorous methods: no noise, no conversations, no pauses. I want to immerse myself completely in the film or series, like in a book.”
We know that she really enjoys walking around Turin. What would you like to visit in the next few days?
«It’s incredible and shocking, I know, but until now I’ve never found the time to go to the Egyptian Museum… Maybe this time I’ll make it! (laughs).”
