Whispering Tides

by Guido Mattioni

Overview

When his beloved wife Nina suddenly dies - after 23 years of life together - Alberto Landi understands he has to leave Milan Italy, where he has always lived and worked. He leaves his friends, colleagues, a good job and the polluted big city he has never loved which has now become even more intolerable to him. He is fifty, he is totally alone and he is confused, but he definitely knows that he has to escape very far away, across the ocean to the only place he and Nina had always loved together. He lands in Savannah, Georgia. There, in a natural paradise governed by the breath of the tides and with the help of many dear friends - colorful human characters as well as wise animals - he starts to rebuild his new life. His dream is coming true until the day he wakes up one morning and discovers that…

Product Details

BN ID:	2940032830665
Publisher:	Guido Mattioni
Publication date:	10/13/2011
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	270 KB

About the Author

Born in Udine, Italy in 1952, I have lived and worked in Milan since 1978. During 33 years of journalism I have worked for daily newspapers as well as weekly and monthly magazines while holding almost every professional title possible, from reporter to editor-in-chief and deputy editor to special correspondent. When I was younger - yes, I've been younger! - I wrote two non-fiction books. I'm married to Maria Rosa, a medical doctor who is a specialist in oncology and so she is also someone who is much more socially useful than I am, apart of being definitely a much more beautiful person too. If I could be reincarnated I would like to do it as a chef. I'm also very proud of having been an honorary citizen of Savannah, Georgia since 1998. My novel "Whispering Tides" ended as Finalist both The Global eBook Awards in Santa Barbara CA and the Usa Best Book Awards in Los Angeles (Literary Fiction category). In 2013 Global eBook Awards edition my novel is the Winner of Multicutural Fiction category. The italian original version of the novel, entitled "Ascoltavo le maree", has been adopted as a teaching "tool" by the Modern & Classical Languages Department at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Editorial Reviews

In Mattioni's novel, a recent widower from Milan realizes his dream of resettling in Savannah. In American novels, protagonists go to Italy to find themselves. For 50something Italian journalist Alberto Landi, America is the destination. Following his wife's death, he sells up and heads for Savannah, Ga., a city they'd both loved. For Alberto, it's more like coming home than leaving it: the city has always awakened primal feelings of longing, and its tidal, muddy waters remind him of "the thick scent of an excited woman in love" and "an amniotic liquid." Intoxicated by Savannah's lush beauty, he delights in its acceptance of eccentricity. In a city proud of its ghosts, Alberto feels comfortable conducting imaginary dialogues with the statue of Georgia's founder, James Oglethorpe, "knowing that I could count on his British and bronze discretion." Alberto also enjoys Savannah's characters, including the owner of a Confederate memorabilia shop and the unofficial historian of the city's historically black community. As he meanders from past to present and back, Alberto explores his dream of starting over. Alberto, whose grief is believable, is a likable fellow; it's easy to see why people are drawn to him and want to tell him their stories. Sometimes, though, the journalist is overly evident and may leave some readers wondering whose story Alberto is telling. Mattioni's understanding of American racial politics can be dicey. Uncle Tom is a sweet image for him, and he uncritically accepts both sentimental views of the Confederacy and hostile, sometimes racially and sexually charged comments about Northerners. Still, even in translation, Mattioni turns a nice phrase, like "bonsai memories that I planted in my happy yesterday" and a tall Irishman who "looks like a pale asparagus with red hair." Sometimes, though, the result is less felicitous: "my mouth, which was bitter and kneaded." Past and present are confusingly intermingled, however deliberate, and the ending relies on a fairly hoary cliché. Many thoughtful and wry observations inhabit this charming but uneven read.

Kirkus Reviews