Margaret Mazzantini is a writer’s writer. Her stories are a visceral take on the world and women, where family and sentimental relationships are infused with acute observations of daily life. In her hugely successful novels—‘Don’t Move’ and ‘Twice Born’ -- she describes war with ferocious accuracy. In her latest novel, ‘Nessuno Si Salva da Solo’, she delves into the very souls of her characters, describing their emptiness and pain, describing the defects and insecurities of an entire generation. Her writing unveils a clear depiction of the human soul in all its nuances, and particularly the dark, hidden corners of the soul.
The magnificent gold necklace which is the Baccante literary prize will be awarded to Margaret Mazzantini Saturday, October 2, by the editorial director of Harlequin Mondadori, Alessandra Bazardi in the Sala Levi of Palazzo Lanfranchi. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m.
Margaret Mazzantini was born in Dublin, Ireland to Carlo Mazzantini, an Italian writer and artist, and Anne Donnelly, an Irish artist. She spent her childhood around in Spain and Tangier, until the family settled in Tivoli. In 1982 she graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome. She had a highly successful career as a stage actor, debuting in the role of Iphigenia by Goethe. She marriage Sergio Castellitto in 1987. She published her first book in 1994, Il Catino di Zinco, which won the Campiello Prize and the Rapallo-Carige Prize for Best First Novel. In 2001 she published ‘Don’t Move’ which won, among other literary prizes, the Grinzane-Cavour Prize, the international Zepter Prize for Best European Book and the 2002 Strega Prize. Don’t Move sold almost two million copies and has been translated in 35 languages. In 2002 she wrote ‘Zorro. Un eremita sul marciapiede’, a one-man show starring Sergio Castellitto. ‘Twice Born’ was published in 2008 and won the 2009 Campiello Prize and is being made into a movie. In 2003, she was awarded the title of Knight Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on the initiative of President of the Republic.Her latest novel, ‘Nessuno Si Salva da Solo’ was published in March of this year.
The critics on ‘Don’t Move’:
"Beautiful. . . . The splintered, humanizing observations that constantly animate this novel . . . are exhilarating" --The New York Times Book Review" Gripping. . . . It unfolds with the whispered, urgent secrecy of the confessional. The writing is terse, taut and very graphic--like a succession of crystal-clear stills from a dramatic film." --The Daily Telegraph
"Irresistible. Reading Don't Move is like opening the hospital room door to find a tiger pacing in the corridor: there's no looking away, no turning back; nothing is more important than what happens next." --Valerie Martin, author of Property.
