Francesca Giannone
La portalettere

We are in Lizzanello, in Salento. It's June of 1934. A coach stops in the town center, the doors open, and the Greco family steps out: Carlo, the head of the family, Anna Allavena, his wife, a woman of disarming beauty, and their young son Roberto. Anna is of Genoese origin, a former teacher, she speaks French, is emancipated and wise, and is not afraid to express her ideals. Carlo is a son of his land, which he left only to embrace again. It's the 1930s in a small southern town, and life flows amid prejudices and gossip. Anna is the woman from the north, the "foreigner" to everyone, the bold one, especially when she decides to participate in a competition to replace the old postman, thus becoming the first woman to perform such arduous and useful work.

On foot or by bicycle, Anna will take her new job very seriously, so different from being behind a desk but always gratifying for her. She will be the keeper of secrets and confessions and will strive to be much more than just a conduit between the sender and the recipient of those letters. She will change the life of Giovanna, known as "the crazy one," unjustly marginalized by everyone in the town, cultivating an almost fraternal friendship with her. She will be the sweet mother of Roberto and the envied but also criticized wife of Carlo. Antonio Greco, Carlo's brother, is the main reference figure for Anna besides her husband. Calm, reflective, and helpful, the second of the Greco brothers has always been in love with that sister-in-law, as fascinating as she is charismatic. His daughter Lorenza is very attached to the aunt from the north and will be the main source of headaches and contradictions once she becomes an adult.

The story spans a timeline of thirty years, during which the reader will experience events, emotions, loves, and betrayals, featuring the families of the Greco brothers and the figures revolving around them.

Francesca Giannone, with this book, which was the Premio Bancarella 2023, seeks to highlight the difficult condition of women in Italy between two wars. She does this, however, by focusing almost exclusively on the strong personality of the postwoman, neglecting the real response that the society of the time would have attributed to other female figures featured in the narrative. This sometimes results in a decontextualization from the standards of the era, giving the story contours that are too modern. Anna has a strong character, knows what she wants, manages to assert herself on any level, and those around her either hate or love her madly. Her husband Carlo, a hostage to his recent past and the reason that took him away from his homeland, lives with guilt and timidly tries to assert himself during family confrontations, never giving the impression of having the strength to prevail, as a man was expected to do in the patriarchal context of the time. Lorenza Greco is the most emblematic representation of this temporal distortion. The men in her life passively endure every one of her attitudes, even the most selfish ones, even when it comes to ignoring a husband and a daughter. Something unthinkable for the era and ultimately too forced for the economy of the story.

Furthermore, unfortunately, we know nothing of Anna Allavena's past, prior to that summer of 1934. The author does not provide any anecdotes or descriptions useful to understand the formation of such a fascinating protagonist. As we know, "La Portalettere" is inspired by a real person, namely Giannone's great-grandmother. This should have ensured at least some construction of the real protagonist's life in the story, even by romanticizing it.

The reading is smooth, thanks to a writing style that is unsophisticated, though at times a bit too simple. It leaves one a bit perplexed at the handling of the enormous time leap leading to the post-World War II era. It all boils down to a radio statement marking the end of the bombings and a few lines highlighting the disbelief and joy of the protagonists, who quickly return to their lives without particular upheavals. Ultimately, nothing is said about the last and most violent period world history has known, with only a slight mention of the Fascist era and dictatorship. Even the ending leaves a bitter taste, being indeed emotional but too hasty and somewhat surreal.

Overall, it's still a good book, written with heart and passion, that intrigues the reader and manages to engage them until the last page. Perhaps it lacked a bit of courage in giving the characters a rougher and more transgressive aspect, to the detriment of that romantic aura that wraps us from the very first lines.

A story of emancipation and social redemption that manages to be very relevant and concludes with a great triumph for Anna and all the unsuspecting women of Lizzanello.