Cinzia Leone and the novel “Come, day into night” brought current events, love and discussion into a dramatic moment, lighting the flame of dialogue

On 16 April Orvietolife invited, with the collaboration of Unitre Orvieto, the writer and journalist Cinzia Leone for the presentation of her latest novel published by Mondadori entitled “Come tu giorno nella notte”. A novel, this is, of love, a sort of family lexicon going back in time. The day began at the Majorana institute with an interesting and stimulating meeting with students and teachers of the school. It is difficult to present a novel set in Tel Aviv, given the times, in which the current events of death at the hands of a terrorist are present and at the same time also the gay love between two boys, an Israeli and a Palestinian.

The young people have fully understood, it is a story that wants to describe a complex, dramatic, tragic, cruel reality at times, for long stretches but which also wants to represent hope, the desire for peace and dialogue between the parties. And in the novel the two protagonists are really distant from each other, the first is an Israeli, an IDF soldier who defends “His Country” from the enemy, but his companion is a Palestinian boy, who escaped from Jenin for the only “Guilt” of being gay. The story is tragically and violently broken by a suicide bomber who blows himself up in a Tel Aviv bar.

The presentation was also an opportunity to describe the places, colours, voices, smells and flavours. It was also an opportunity to reveal the cards and explain why a boy in 2024 must escape from the city and from his affections in order to be able to freely express his love for him. It is not easy also because Cinzia Leone went to Tel Aviv to research, to understand, to know the stories of the many young people, men and women, who have chosen to be free to love. There was a moment of lively debate because there were those who wanted to talk about something else and not the novel, but that was what we wanted to discuss, but without hiding under the carpet the tragedy that we are experiencing day after day, since that horrible October 7th up to the Iranian drones with the destruction of Gaza in the middle and the deaths, many, too many innocents. We talked about women and homosexuality and Cinzia Leone underlined, “to date there are still 48 countries that provide for prison for homosexuals and in 8 the death penalty is still in force”. Then there are the women in Iran who can study, teach, are judges, lawyers, scientists, “they can even get to the atomic bomb”, Leone said almost provocatively, “but they must, they cannot, wear the veil. And in Saudi Arabia the situation is even worse. There they can’t choose, working anywhere, even driving a car can be a problem.”

In the afternoon, a new presentation, this time dedicated to the city with the precious participation of Alberto Romizi, vice-president of Unitre-Orvieto, who read some intense, dramatic and exciting passages from the book.

Another protagonist is a mother who lost her son in the attack but who had lost him even before when she decided to move from Italy to Israel, convinced by her grandmother, another important woman. “How can you define a mother who loses a child? There is the definition of widow, of orphan but not for a mother who sees her son die. It is not found in any language in the world except two: Arabic and Hebrew. Is it a coincidence? No, it is one of the examples, in this dramatic case, how much these two communities have in common, these two peoples who are much more similar than they want you to believe. His, the foods, the music, the assonances, everything leads to being close and yet they are so far away.” Cinzia Leone then cannot fail to comment on the most pressing current events, “every child killed, every woman killed, violated, is a defeat for the executioner and for everyone. I hope that my book can also be a step on the path to dialogue, justice and democracy.”

And democracy is the real differentiator. The only democracy in the area is Israel, it is not perfect like all democracies and we must and can start from there to break a chain of hatred and violence that is now unsustainable. This does not mean “exporting democracy”, a process attempted in the recent past which was unsuccessful and indeed reopened the door to the most dangerous Islamic radicalism. However, we want to end the day by returning to the novel “Come, day into night”, the true protagonist with its author Cinzia Leone. A poignant story, never banal, flowing and of great intensity, ready for a film, the ingredients are all there. OrvietoLife thanks those who attended, our colleagues Roberto Conticelli and Ruben Della Rocca, the director and teachers of the Majorana Institute, the president of the City Council for giving us the council chamber, the Unitre for the precious collaboration and Cinzia Leone who gave us a special dedication, a portrait of the person who had the book, a particular homage that once again underlines the humanity and depth of the person. And then all we have to do is meet you on the next occasion and the next book because inquiring, reading and studying are fundamental actions for knowing and being free.