Speakers and writers of different languages filled the Expo Centre stage for the Novel of the World marathon, held in cooperation withthe Writers’ Club of TurinandI, Woman. The novel was written by 104 writers from 100 countries and in 28 different languages.

In addition to the authors,Cristiana Capotondi,Chiara DevotoandCamila Raznovichlent their voices to this great choral work about feeding the body and the mind. They then took a trip around the world and were accompanied by music “to hear and see” fromQuartetto Euphoria, an ensemble of women string musicians.

 

This literary voyage, organized as part of Women's Weeks, began inAlbaniawith the story of Hesma, a woman able to change the fate of a village by drawing strength from the earth, passionately narrated by writerAnilda Ibrahimi, and continued in Armenia withSonya Orfalia, who underlined the reassuring power of food even in the most extreme situations. The voice of Turkish writerElif Shafak, brought to the Expo stage by actressChiara Devoto, made everyone want to taste ashure, a sweet symbol of togetherness and cosmopolitanism, while Mongolian lyric singerAyana Sambuushared a memory of family tied to a New Year’s dinner in Ulan Bator.

A story by Belgian writerAmélie Nothomb,Camila Raznovichbrought the audience’s attention to the subject of anorexia. The desertion of the country, emigration and homesickness for the food of one’s native country then took shape in the poetic tale by MoldavianLila Bice. The words ofSimonetta Agnello Hornbytook her listeners to her Palermo, whileClara Sanchezevoked the taste of happy days, the days of a potato tortilla.Dacia Marainitold a tale about hunger suffered in a concentration camp in Japan during the Second World War, thenElizabeth Strout, in reading the chapter byCristiana Capotondi, gave homage to poetry as nourishment for the soul.

The last leg of the journey taken with the Novel of the World was to India, with a spicy story byAnita Nairset in her parents’ Bangalore home, where “meals take on the eloquence of a theatrical performance”.