Reading Europe - Italian Snapshots

Episodes

TitleFirst
Broadcast
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A Red Rose20160821

A specially commissioned translation from the master of the Italian short story - Stefano Benni. An elderly man addresses a group gathered in a boardroom, he begins to tell them a story about a girl he once knew.

The author Stefano Benni is widely considered one of Italy's foremost contemporary novelists. His trademark mix of biting social satire and magical realism has turned each of his books into a national bestseller. His many novels include Bar Sport, The Company of Celestini, The Cafe Beneath the Sea, and the remarkably successful Margherita Dolce Vita. Benni is also the author of several volumes of essays and poetry and many collections of short stories. He lives in Bologna, Italy.

Written by Stefano Benni
Translated by Alta L. Price
Read by James Laurenson
Abridged by Jill Waters and produced by Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

An unexpected tale from the boardroom of lost romance and a rose. By Stefano Benni.

Three stories from contemporary Italy.

Journey in Red Shoes20160807

Three snapshots of Italian life written in the past 15 years. The first story - Journey in Red Shoes by Simona Vinci - has a dark and troubling undercurrent as a single mother and her three daughters travel back to her family in Bologna. The youngest girl has been crying without cease for days and her two half sisters are struggling to deal with it. So too is their mother who cannot fathom why her four year old is so full of inarticulate despair.

Simona Vinci was born in 1970 in Milan. She studied and now lives in Bologna and, early in her career, was part of a group of young writers who published the online magazine, Incubatoio 16. She is one of the authors most commonly associated with the Giovani Cannibali (Young Cannibals) movement.

"Simona Vinci's collection of short stories - In Every Sense Like Love - translated by Minna Proctor, recalls early Ian McEwan" (Rachel Cusk , Daily Telegraph).

Written by Simona Vinci
Translated by Minna Proctor
Read by Carly Bawden and Lia Williams
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

By Simona Vinci. A mother and her three daughters make a life-changing journey.

Three stories from contemporary Italy.

Maternal Pride20160814

Three snapshots of Italian life written in the past 15 years. In the second story - Maternal Pride by Matteo Bianchi - it's summer and a group of young Italian men are getting ready to attend a parade in Padua. An elderly lady is also making plans although her motivation is unclear.

Maternal Pride by Matteo Bianchi, translated by Liesl Schillinger, is published by Words without Borders, an online journal that shares work which is not currently in translation (www.wordswithoutborders.org).

Abridged and produced by Jill Waters.
Read by Mathew Baynton

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

By Matteo B Bianchi. Summer in Padua, and an elderly lady takes an unusual decision.

Three stories from contemporary Italy.