Year 2055: the lack of water haunts the Earth and for men, prosperity is just a memory. The few remaining underground sources are under military control, while rainwater is sold on the black market. This is what happens in Byzan, the crumbling megalopolis where Edward and Alma live. They met by chance, when she was just making a living on the street and he was still with his grandfather who had come from Africa, and they soon got lost. When they meet, some time later, she is twenty-one and he is seventeen: nothing unites them, except a voice that speaks to them in a dream. It is that of Rubedo, incarnation of Oltre, a mysterious elsewhere that invites them to leave together. They must look for the little Moon, who lives in an isolated community, and then all go together to discover the source that will give life back to the Earth. Thus begins “Thirst. The search for the source ′′ (Rizzoli, 2023, pp. 247, also e-book) novel for young people (but not only) in which adventure, training story and reflection on the deep meaning of what it means to be human are intertwined. Thirst is, in fact, the adventure of three boys who get to know each other, the lucid gaze on a world where technological wealth cannot compensate for the beauty of all that has been lost and at the same time an inner exploration in the deepest of themselves.
First of all, we asked Sara Loffredi what meaning to give to the thirst that gives the novel its title:
“The word thirst has meaning on two levels. On a physical level, I was interested in telling the story of a lack, of a lack. The story of something you don't have, no longer have and that you are looking for. Water is that something that together with air contributes most to life and it intrigued me that my characters moved in a world in which this vital substance has almost disappeared».
This is the first level. And the second?
«Alongside this 'physical', concrete level of storytelling and adventure, there is a more symbolic one. My protagonists are looking for a source, but first of all they have to find within themselves the tools to look for it. For me, things are born within us first and then they are realized outside of us. Even in an apocalyptic world like that of 2055, where there is no longer any water, it is not enough to set off to find this vital substance. You must first find within yourself the tools that will enable you to make that journey».
What kind of journey do our protagonists face?
«In this book of mine I deliberately pay homage to Cormac McCarthy and his novel The Road. A fundamental book for me because it tells of a world where there is no longer anything human... yet the protagonists manage to remain human. It's a book about how you can stay human when everything around you is inhuman. What I wanted is for my protagonists to keep their human parts protected from everything around them during the journey. The protagonists live in a world where everything seems to be coming to an end. Why should they behave according to conscience? Why should they show humanity? It is then up to making choices and in the book it is above all Alma who makes them».
What does Alma represent?
«Alma is the character who most of all makes a journey inside herself in the book. Inside her there are two parts: she is a beggar and also an empress. The part of the beggar is the one who asks, the part of the empress is the one who has everything she needs in herself and can therefore afford to give to others. We all have these two parts within us and during the journey Alma cultivates them, makes them mature within herself and in the end manages to remain human. When he meets the Elohi people and learns that they have water, he refuses to have it on their terms. Refuse to have it leaving the rest of humanity to thirst. She acts like an empress convinced that she will find more water on her own.'
Even in a waterless 2055, is there room not only for humanity, but also for hope?
«Yes, there is always room for hope. Even the worst and inevitable things, seen later, can take on a different meaning. There is hope because there is evolution. In life you learn by evolving. If you're still, it's like being dead."