Frantumaglia

We are tornadoes that pick up fragments with the most varied historical and biological origins. This makes of us - thankfully - fickle agglomerations that maintain a fragile equilibrium, that are inconsistent and complex, that can't be reduced to any fixed framework that does not inevitably leave out a great deal. Which is why the more effective stories resemble ramparts from which one can gaze out at everything that has been excluded. In this collection, renowned and reclusive Italian writer Elena Ferrante addresses subjects such as her choice to remain anonymous, her literary inspirations, politics and culture, and the role of the writer (and the publisher) in modern society. Ferrante's voice is ever the same; direct, penetrating, sharp, inspiring and intimate. Ferrante is the author of the Neapolitan Novels, amongst others, and has been hailed as 'The publishing story of the decade' by the Sunday Times.'This is a fascinating volume... At times, it is as absorbing as Ferrante's extraordinary fictions and touches on troubling unconscious matter with the same visceral intensity. For those who can't wait for the next Ferrante fiction to sink into, it provides a stopgap.' The Guardian'It is an intimate history of her progress between one book and the next; an invitation to sit at her desk and to see as she sees the work she does with words.' Times Literary Supplement