A Decent Family
For fans of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series comes a captivating family saga focused on a willful young woman’s struggles against her oppressive small town by acclaimed Italian author Rosa Ventrella.
In old Bari, everyone knows Maria De Santis as “Malacarne,” the bad seed. Nicknamed for her dark features, volcanic temperament, and resistance to rules, the headstrong girl can only imagine the possibilities that lie outside her poverty-stricken neighborhood. Growing up with her mother, two brothers, and a tyrannical father, Maria must abide. She does ― amid the squalid life to which she was born, the cruelties of her small-minded neighbors, and violence in a constant threat of eruption. As she reconciles her need for escape with the allegiance she feels toward her family, Maria has her salvations: her secret friend, Michele, son of a rival family and every bit the outsider she is, and her passion for books, which may someday take her far, far away.
In this exquisitely rendered and sensory-rich novel, Rosa Ventrella explores the limits of loyalty, the redeeming power of friendship and love, and the fire in the soul of one woman who was born to break free.
Rosa Ventrella
Rosa Ventrella was born in Bari and lives in Cremona. She graduated in modern history and received a master’s degree in school management. She has given several lectures on the condition of women in history and in her novels contests passionately the feelings and worries of women. She also teaches creative writing. Her novel Il giardino degli oleandri (Newton Compton, 2013) has sold over 50,000 copies. Fiori di magnolia (Amazon Publishing, 2017) was in the top 100 best selling ebooks of contemporary fiction. Storia di una famiglia perbene (Newton Compton) is currently being translated in 20 countries, the film rights were sold to 11MarzoFilm Production.
Her new novel, The slander (Mondadori 2019), was sold in 9 countries. Film rights were sold to Idea Cinema.
