Archaeologist graduated from Harvard, doctor at Tufts University, president of several biotechnology companies and ultimately a writer, Cooper yesterday presented his latest book “The Last Conclave” in Bisceglie as the only stop in Southern Italy.
During the meeting, he reveals how the human being is the only one who can correlate such different choices, maintaining with respect to his work and his past, that being a writer is all the more effective the more experiences he can draw from. and its past is a storehouse of ideas.
“I have gone through several passions in my life, writing is the third act“. For this, he confesses: “I’m surprised when a young person writes a very successful book, as I wonder what experiences they draw from“.
Cooper is an author with particular prose and great attention to detail, never superficial and flat in dealing with historical themes which he deals with as a true screenwriter and film producer. In Italy you are surrounded by history and for this reason, you have the opportunity to appreciate it more. Which is why Cooper sets his books here.
He claims: “I like to bring the past to life which in turn brings the present to life. It’s like a thread of time being woven together“.
“The Last Conclave” has as its protagonist Cal Donovan, university professor and detective, who puts his sensitivity at the center to solve puzzles. This is a normal person who, through reason and experience, is able to face unexpected events. Through Donovan’s flaws, Cooper is able to identify and deal with his own demons. “The more you put of yourself into a character, the more authentic you find it“.
The theme of the great Catholic Church is linked to that of women, of feminism. All this thanks to the figure of Sister Elisabetta Celestino, who has taken on greater importance over time, also thanks to the love felt by Donovan who falls in love with the only woman he knows he cannot have. “The churchsays Cooper, he took a step forward with Francesco, but we are light years away from what it should be.” The conflict between tradition and progress derives from a precarious balance, from forces that are rebelling, especially regarding the marginalization of women by the church.
Cooper’s writing style, halfway between Hemingway and Faulkner, is not too bold, nor too essential, but is capable of creating dialogues in which ordinary people can find themselves, without too many turns of phrase.
