“As soon as I saw Alisia get off the train I thought with relief that we had reached the point: she was finally leaving me.“
Silvio and Alisia are a non-couple. They have almost nothing in common, yet their relationship continues like a stone thrown into a lake, which continues to sink until it reaches the bottom. As a couple, however, they work because, as the author writes, the most successful couples are those who manage to bring together the right combination of their pathologies (mental and personality).
The text begins with Silvio and Alisia meeting at a train station, but while he is hopeful of being welcomed by her decision to finally end their relationship, she cuts the air by announcing an unexpected pregnancy.
What could have been a positive new beginning begins a whirlwind of secrets and resentment that strengthens the relationship between the two. Silvio is aware that he cannot be the father of the unborn child because he is sterile, but decides to accept the role, even when he finds concrete evidence of Alisia’s infidelity. He immerses his life in what is called the lust for pain, which becomes the meaning of his entire life, as well as that of many others, whom many live and desire without ever wanting to admit it to themselves.
Between seriousness and humor, and embracing many of the protagonist’s reflections, especially the most bitter ones, the book leaves the reader with a question: is this all life is? To what extent do those boring and repetitive things we are forced to do, held together by fake interpersonal relationships, really have any meaning? Wouldn’t it be better to start all over again, without being guided by events, before it’s too late to live a life that isn’t ours before reaching extinction?
Unexpected in its originality. Clever in its nod to the modern world in both form and substance. Certainly well-written, it can be read in a day and a half despite its 280 pages.
We had the opportunity to delve deeper into the text directly with the author who was our guest at the fifth edition of “Il giugno dei libri,” and we discovered new angles on the story that we hadn’t considered.
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Francesco Mazza, Estinzione, La Nave di Teseo, Milano, 2025