Antonio Franchini, in a country like Italy which sanctifies the figure of the mother, you write a novel, «The fire you carry inside», whose incipit is: «My mother stinks». Why?
«My mother was a great character, similar to a literary character: impetuous, overflowing, noisy. Inconsistent, you remind me of the inconsistency of certain politicians today. A woman full of flaws, but in her own powerful way, like the protagonist of a novel. This is why I, as a writer, told her character more than my mother. That she has the strength of fiction, superior to reality.”
After a long career at Mondadori, you have been director of Giunti for nine years. Gian Arturo Ferrari, the doyen of Italian publishing, has indicated her as his heir. So tell us: how do you recognize a great novel?
“It’s getting harder. I’ll explain it to you with an anecdote. Mauro Covacich once said to me: “But can you see Kafka going to the bookshop to present The Metamorphosis?”. This is to say that the writer once had a sacred aura that is now lost. In many cases, the story of what someone has written is considered more interesting than the book itself. It’s the age of communication, yes, but if we had to name one or two books that have stood the test of the past ten years, would that be easy for you?”
Let’s try it: a title?
«Mussolini Canalby Antonio Pennacchi”.
How did the title come about?
«Antonio said: “That channel is called Mussolini because Mussolini made it, if someone from the Democratic Party had made it it would have had another name”. When a novel is strong, it doesn’t have to fear prejudice.”
You are known for having found some of the most beautiful titles of recent years, for example «The solitude of prime numbers» by Paolo Giordano.
«That sentence was contained in the novel. Sometimes you just need to read carefully.”
Another Italian book that stands the test of time?
«Lives of non-illustrious men by Giuseppe Pontiggia. And Ferrari himself explained to me why it was a masterpiece in a few words: “They are portraits of ordinary people who are born and die without having done anything special.” It is this essentiality that constitutes its greatness. When people need to be told a load of bullshit because they can’t see the beauty of fundamental things, then consolatory literature is born.”
Who will win the Strega?
«Gamble: Donatella Di Pietrantonio».
You have been called “the lord of the Witch”.
«Nonsense. That is a collective victory. As a publisher I have won eleven, since I have been “participating” since 1991.”
Why doesn’t he compete with his novel now?
«Because the idea that at a certain age I can claim for myself those successes achieved over the years with publishing houses seems repugnant to me».
What do you do to win the Strega?
«There was that writer who went around showing his diagnostic x-rays to highlight his precarious health and garner votes…».
Arguments?
«I remember the bickering between Aldo Busi and Rossana Ombres; but we are talking about real intellectuals. Busi, for example, was someone who knew how to put his demons at the service of creative work.”
Not everyone remembers that Alessandro Barbero, before becoming famous as a popularizer, won the Strega with a novel.
«And that novel, Good life and other people’s wars by mr. Pyle, gentleman, was not Barbero’s only literary exercise. That he is not an easy author, on the contrary. His books have a complexity that, curiously, is accessible; indeed, it is precisely his complexity that makes him popular.”
Why do crime and noir authors often prefer not to compete, even if they are refined writers?
«Unfortunately in Italy even today, even after relevant examples like Andrea Camilleri, someone who writes detective stories feels like he’s in a ghetto. Which is absurd, since the idea of the novel has changed, and noir can very well be contaminated with other themes. Let’s just think about The Name of the Rose.”
Ferrari doesn’t think Eco was a great writer. She?
“What is it The Name of The rose if not a successful compendium of crime fiction, history and semiotics? Eco had the courage to clear all genres deemed useless, from comics to detective stories, but in his notes he noted: “They don’t forgive me for having written a novel as if it were an article in the Express”. It was the Eighties, Italian literature was very conservative, the plot was suspected of collusion with consumer fiction.”
More victims of intransigent critical thinking?
«Although his books were very important in the Mondadori budget, Luciano De Crescenzo never found a place except in the Varia».
And today?
«Today I challenge you to find in the rankings more than four books, both Italian and foreign, that can be considered purely literary».
Has real literature disappeared from the charts?
«It seems obvious to me or, in any case, what is being sold is something else. And a publisher must also think about sales. But it has also become difficult to find new talent, because today in writing schools aspiring authors are presented in groups to publishers and agents. A collective “pitch”, in which they have to tell their story in a few words. Once upon a time they came to me, who have a certain standard of judgement. But if today you have to get noticed both by us, and by literary agents, and by communication experts, it is understandable that the very nature of “talent” is transforming into something more multifaceted.”
Are we more or less conformist than many years ago?
«I sincerely believe that today a masterpiece like Lolita it would hardly be published. The same goes for In cold blood by Truman Capote. But it is the spirit of the time: my generation understood late that authors like Rea, Cassola, Bassani, Soldati were great writers, because until the 1980s the ax of the avant-garde had fallen on them. For the Gruppo ’63 Bassani was “the Liala of literature”».
Are there talents in every season that, due to the “spirit of the times”, risk going unnoticed?
«Yes, “literature” is also a broad term and there are excellent writers who choose to write for quality cinema or television».
Do you prefer Pavese or Fenoglio?
«Fenoglio, but with difficulty; because I also loved Pavese very much.”
Has the Mondadori-Rizzoli dominance at the Strega now waned?
«The data speaks: more and more medium-large publishing houses are placing themselves at the top. But it’s natural: the publishing market has changed. Today there are many more themes; think about those related to women. I see vivacity in the smaller publishers.”
Ferrari pointed to her; tell us now who will be his heir.
«Not being able to say Giulia Ichino who works with me, I say Carlo Carabba».
Will there ever be a “last book” in human history?
«In the TV series On the edge of reality there is a happy misanthrope only among books. When a catastrophe makes him the last survivor, he enters a library and rejoices. But his glasses break and he can’t read. Moral: books will exist as long as we are able to read and write.”
