I'll start by saying that I haven't written here on Debaser for ages. A strong emotion is what I'm feeling right now; I signed up on this site at the tender age of 20, and now I'm 35!

The emotion is immense, also because what I'm about to review is my first novel. Yes, indeed, behind the pseudonym Kurtd lies a guy named Werner... you've discovered me!

While no one notices anything, it's a poor, raw, and disillusioned novel. The protagonist, Luca, appears to lead a life like many others, with his job at the cemetery and his difficult relationships. Inside, however, he has a much darker and more complex world, filled with a desire for solitude and at the same time fear of being alone, a desire to love and fear of doing so, anxiety that knots up his stomach, and the beloved benches in the greenery to alleviate it. Luca is aware of the demons he carries within and battles them every day, even with the help of a professional. He is so aware that he shouts to the world that sometimes problems aren't solved, that getting back up is possible... but not for everyone.

In this book, I try to convey to the reader the substantial difference between sadness and depression, all set in a present-day Milan, in the most conversational way possible.

The theme of depression is as relevant and important as ever; it is often unjustifiably and culpably underestimated by a society that races ahead, hurrying towards an uncertain future, slipping lightly over life and its dramas with the quick ease with which images slide across a phone screen.

Too often, the malaise of living is trivialized or compared to an unwarranted sadness that a little willpower can chase away.

The truth is, sometimes problems don't get solved.

I hope I've piqued some curiosity in all of you, and if you ever wish to support an emerging writer, you can find the book on Amazon: being a Self-Publishing, you won't find it in any bookstore.

Thanks to all of you, old and new, friends of DeBaser.

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