Hi there!
Today we’re here to talk about a book written by my go-to writer Sveva Casati Modignani. This is a pseudonym used by Bice Cairati and her husband. They are Italian writers and they made this pseudonym one of the most popular of the Italian fiction. Bice’s husband died in 2004 and she kept on using the pseudonym. She’s one of my favourite writers and I can’t hesitate to read something she wrote. I haven’t read a book of hers that I didn’t enjoy. I can’t help it, I love all her books. So let’s talk about Singolare Femminile.
Martina’s an enigmatic woman. Loved by some and hated by others, she was always under the critical eye of the people of Vertova, including her own daughters’. Since the beginning of her life, she has been trying to find the best way to get to the authentic vocation as a woman. So she has three daughters, from three different men, without marrying.
Her sudden death leaves all her family shocked and it will be Vienna, her mother, to unravel the secrets of this woman so unique. Alternating between the past and the present, we will find they have more in common than they thought: they’re all attractive and independent women that loved and were loved, but decided to face the social norms for the greater good of being mothers.
I love Martina. She is a strong and determined woman and doesn’t let people let her down. She learns from her mistakes and teaches her daughters to do the same. However, she educates them in different ways. While the oldest knows what she wants and fights for it and the middle daughter is very independent and works hard, the youngest got used to have her mother always by her side and she grew to be a jealous and dependent woman. Martina let her be that way because she knows it’s not her daughter’s fault, but I couldn’t avoid and roll my eyes when she was having some stupid attitude.
Martina’s life wasn’t easy and as she didn’t grow up with a paternal figure, she decides that maybe that is the best way to educate her daughters. Giuliana was born when Martina was only 15 years old and her father ran to another city. That made Giuliana grow close to her mother and made them best friends. Maria was born some months after her father dying. It was the hardest part to read. Martina was happy and Giuliana loved her mother’s new boyfriend. He was the first to make Martina thinking about a wedding in her adult life. Osvalda is the youngest and is the fruit of a passion with a British Professor. He was married and Martina made him think about his wife so she raised Osvalda in Italy and during the summer holidays, the girl travelled to the U.K. to spend some time with her father. Osvalda was the only girl growing with her father.
Sveva’s writing is so easy to read and understand that you can read a four hundred-ish pages book in a couple of days. Unfortunately, I didn’t find her books written in English. They are all written in Italian (of course), and I can only find them in Italian or Portuguese. Since I’m Portuguese, I always read them in my mother tongue. If you ever search her books and find some in English, please tell me because I would love to know.
Do you read anything by Sveva Casati Modignani before? Did you like it? If you want to read something by her, but don’t know where to begin, ask me so I can help you.
See you next time!
Chronicles of a booklover girl 