Presentation of
Nonna Carla by Alain Elkann
(English translation by K.E. Battig von Wittelsbach
Publisher Bordighera Press)
Author Alain Elkann
in conversation with
Prof. Fabio Finotti
IIC-NY Director
Prof. Anthony J. Tamburri
(Dean of John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
Queens College CUNY)
Alessandro Cassin
(Centro Primo Levi, New York)
Prof. K.E. Bättig von Wittelsbach
(Cornell University)
Please RSVP at iicny.rsvp@gmail.com
indicating “Nonna Carla”
Nonna Carla. One of Alain Elkann’s most intimate books, this is a story told through diary entries that lovingly and demurely investigate his mother’s illness and death. From the warning signs of illness to the traumatic experience of the intensive care unit to the closing moments of the funeral, these are memories that emerge as simple and precise, highlighting a son’s rebellion and helplessness in the face of his mother’s demise. This is a meditation on death and its ability to still catch us unprepared, leaving behind a void that even time is never be able to fill.
“A book different from Alain Elkan’s others, more intimately suffered, offering itself to the reader with a sincerity without repair.”–Raffaele La Capria
“A short but intimate book, where the truth of grief and writing are interwoven against the backdrop of everyday life: children’s journeys, the waiting for a grandchild …”–Vera Schiavazzi, La Repubblica
Alain Elkann is an author, intellectual, and journalist who was born in New York and grew up in Italy. Of international fame, he is the author of more than thirty books many of which have been translated into numerous languages.