Converging Lives – Novel by Elisabetta Fioritti – Review by Maria Teresa De Donato

 Converging Lives – Novel by Elisabetta Fioritti

Review by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

After some time, Elisabetta Fioritti gives us another beautiful novel. If The Scent of the Days was the book of memories linked mainly to childhood, adolescence, and early youth, Converging Lives is the novel of adulthood, of both physical and internal growth and maturity.

From that sense of protection that characterizes, above all, the first part of our existence, Life continues with the alternation of happy moments, followed by dark ones and still others whose events take us not only by surprise but also often wholly unprepared. The wounds remain, but the survival instinct, strengthened by love in whatever form and sphere it presents itself, constitutes an excellent incentive to start over a life worthy of being defined as such and to ensure that smiles once again illuminate our faces.

Between the blue sky of Rome, which dominates its often chaotic and disorganized progress, and the Berlin sunsets with the snow-covered trees, one searches for one's place in the world, the opportunity to make one's way by giving free rein to one's creativity in the hope that the latter is recognized and appreciated. Choices are sometimes far from easy when you are no longer alone, and you have to consider the pros and cons that any transfers will have on us and the rest of the family. Love, empathy, understanding, and, when possible, the support of the family unit, also made up of grandparents, make everything easier and pave the way for the success of our initiatives.

The love of a couple, that towards their children, as well as that for grandparents, in-laws, and closest relatives, also plays a primary role in this novel, highlighting, once again, how love constitutes an element of strength and facilitates the passing of tests and the achievement of goals. Not everything, of course, is predictable or controllable by us. The important thing, however, is to "always continue to hope [having faith that] after the darkest night, the light of a new day is always born." (Fioritti, p.152, 2021)

Aspects such as health and "extrasensory experience at the limit of existence" (p.128) are also mentioned in this work, reminding us that "medicine is a science but in certain cases, it bows its head in the face of the arcane." (p.131)

The fragility of Life is perpetually confronted with the possibility of Death: "...life is sometimes a ferocious, wild, violent and tenacious animal, it attacks everything, it sucks in, and swallows hopes, desires, even feelings themselves." (p.239) Other times, on the contrary, it surprises us positively and, in the least hoped-for moment, gives us another possibility, giving us a joy that we never dreamed would be possible for us.

Maybe everything has already been written and decided about our destiny, or maybe not, and we will probably never find the answer to this great mystery. The only thing available to us is to treasure the experiences we have lived, learn the lessons, and be entirely enveloped by the magic of love, the only one that "suddenly emerges and penetrates everywhere, makes the air vibrate and music is heard, even when this is not there. …" (p.245)

This book is written from the heart and is full of food for thought, which I recommend reading to everyone.