The Manfredonia mystery will no longer be just that of the sun, but also that of the most read novels in Italy, in the tradition of Camilleri. Gabriella Genisi presented yesterday, Wednesday 26 June, at the amphitheater of the Marina del Gargano, Tourist Port of Manfredonia, her new novel “Role Playing Games”, set in the city of Manfredonia.
The author from Bari, known above all for the creation of the character of the deputy commissioner Lolita Lobosco, also transposed into the successful Rai fiction, decided to temporarily “leave” the Levantine coasts to land on the shores of the Siponto Gulf. On the occasion of the fourth edition of the literary review “I bring you a book”, organized by Michele De Meo’s Re Manfredi Prize, Genisi had the opportunity to meet her Gargano audience and talk about her new story, a spin-off of the main Lolita Lobosco series.
The protagonist of the novel is Giancarlo Caruso, Sicilian, new commissioner of Manfredonia and Lolita’s last love, who becomes the co-protagonist in the book.
“The idea came to me one day in Mattinata.” – states the writer – “They asked me if I could write a novel set in this land. From there the spark started. From there I often came to the Gargano. I am in love with this land, with the Basilica of Siponto, the Abbey of San Leonardo, the hypogea. The surnames of some “local” characters obviously reflect local surnames. Even though they are inventions of the imagination, one must feel the authenticity of the territory. If the book is successful, I don’t rule out the possibility of creating a further parallel line to the series of Lolita novels.”
The common thread of this book will be role-playing games, specifically the everlasting Dungeons & Dragons, discovered by the writer during a meeting with some kids in Rome.
Gabriella Genisi also highlighted the importance that novels can have for the place in which they are set
“Bari’s old reputation was that of a land of crime, linked to a past that no longer exists, for example Bari Vecchia’s bad reputation for muggings. From there things changed, in the Lolita novels I tell of a different, better, sunny, welcoming Bari. Today we can proudly say that we go on holiday to Bari. The Lolita fiction has also given impetus to what literary tourism is. People visit Lolita places. ”
Genisi also specified the fundamental interest of Luisa Ranieri, who plays the “most beloved commissioner in Italy” and her husband Luca Zingaretti, interpreter of the most famous commissioner of the country, namely Salvo Montalbano, created by the pen of the late Andrea Camilleri . Gabriella took inspiration for the character of Lolita from Montalbano.
A great wish for Manfredonia would be the success of this book and, why not, a television series set in our city. After all, there is a bit of Vigata in Manfredonia too.
