There are books that, through certain reading contexts, specifically activate our affective memory and, for a while, participate in the imaginary uncovering of some blurred areas of reality, books that simply talk about certain powers of literature and its effects on the reader. Marta, the seamstress, spoke to many of us about self-building through altruism in such a personal way that I waited for your new book, Valentina Di Cesare, like a visit from a close friend, of warm, comforting wisdom. (…) The impressions are about the same regarding the novel In the year in which Bartolo decided to die. However, things have become more complicated from a stylistic point of view, although it seems contradictory to express myself this way, since the change consists in the transition from that assumed naivety, which I mentioned once, to a well-controlled minimalism, again excellently translated into Romanian by Carmen Făgeţeanu. The maturation of the narrative formula comes, without a doubt, from the sharpening of the moral issues you raise for us, which, at this stage, required sharper expressions, without volutes, without concessions. In the Romanian language, such an approach is difficult to become convincing, but the translator has again found the rhythm and timbre that encompass and express, even in this minimalist manner, a certain intimacy that makes possible the call for empathy that you send us. Gabriel Nedelea
