Roberto Deriu wins the prize for literature at the Spoleto Festival Art
Between the detective story and the adventure novel, "The Panther of Bultei" is a book about post-truth
The award ceremony for "La Pantera di Bultei", a novel by Roberto Deriu, winner of the Spoleto Festival Art International Prize for literature, was held today in Spoleto, at the Cloister of San Nicolò Roof Garden Theater.
"I am really happy to be here and receive this recognition - commented the writer -, an event that every year brings together famous personalities from the world of culture, entertainment and the arts in Umbria".
During the ceremony, the author spoke of his work born "after a gestation that lasted five years".
The book starts from a futuristic scene in the center of Rome, Trastevere, the protagonist - a young musician from the Marche region, Alberto Campana - is destined by the Official Structure (and by the enigmatic character Ahl Edmond Zenia) to teach in the schools of the villages of Sardinia, true Italy dominated by a totalitarian regime based on the Factual Doctrine. A post-truth novel that develops an interweaving that wraps, according to a metaphorical language and the combination of several narrative levels, the essential themes of contemporary life.
"I have been meditating on these stories for over thirty years - revealed Deriu -. The panther is an animal that has always fascinated me, for its solitude and its elegance. It is probably the contrast between the apparent ferocity and its grace seductive that convinced me to elect you as an instrument of truth ".
The book has features from both the mystery book and the adventure novel. The island is traveled far and wide by a legendary figure: the panther of Bultei. Many say they have seen it, it is a myth or perhaps just a fake news. It sows terror and dismay, even among the strong powers, the Official Structure itself, the Church and the Chosen Prelates, and a mysterious secret brotherhood called The Trained Marionettes.
"I think that a book like 'La Pantera di Bultei' - concluded the author - should also be read by young people with the curiosity to understand themselves in relation to a world they live with apprehension. It is an antidote to the anxiety of being young people, but also an invitation to live the intense adventure of becoming adults without fear. This is how every happy youth should be: daring among the fears of the world ".
(Unioneonline / F)
