Sagittarius

(Paperback)

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'At long last she was playing the role she had alwaysdreamt about, that of a mother, full of anxious solicitude, preparing to confide her daughter into the handsof a young man with good intentions, good prospectsand a good character.'

A mother decides to follow her daughter to the city, she settles in the suburbs with her older daughter and son-in-law in tow. She quickly grows restless and is eager to find new friends. Brassy, bossy and perpetually dissatisfied she strikes up a friendship with the mysterious Scilla, and soon the two women are planning to open an art gallery.


But there is more to Scilla than meets the eye. After a series of afternoons spent at bars having coffee granitas with cream, and at Scilla's apartment on Via Tripoli, it quickly becomes apparent that the connections and the cul-tured life promised by Scilla may never materialise, despite always being just within reach.


What proceeds is a story of the dissolution of a family, and the role that class plays in its downfall. Sagittarius is the story of misplaced confidence and am-bition gone awry, recounted by a wary daughter.

Author Bio

Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991) was born in Sicily and is regarded as one of the most important Italian writers of the twentieth century. She wrote dozens of essays, plays, and novels, including Voices in the Evening, All Our Yesterdays, and Family Lexicon, which won the prestigious Strega Prize in 1963. She was involved in activism throughout her life, and served in the Italian parliament from 1983 to 1987.