La fabbrica delle stelle

Saverio Lamanna is a disillusioned journalist turned political communicator. He is at home in the Rome of casual flirtations and trendy clubs, in the smart suit of the disengaged 40-year-old. But a professional stumble shatters his house of cards. Fired by the undersecretary whose spokesman he was, he is forced to return to his native Sicily and take refuge in his family’s seaside villa in Màkari. In this temporary landing place, Lamanna finds Peppe Piccionello, a local specimen in his underwear and flip-flops, loaded with practical and ancient wisdom. And in Trapani’s seaside paradise he meets Suleima, a girl who might even make him happy. Born and bred in four short stories included in as many collections by this publisher, Lamanna has a ready wit, an idiosyncrasy to the clichés and especially the prejudices, even the positive ones, that revolve around Sicilians. To make a living he invents small trades, even deciding to become a mystery writer. The tiny local celebrity gets him a few atypical jobs. A rich lady hires him to keep an eye on his younger sister, behind the screen of a film production’s press office. So Saverio Lamanna, with his unlikely sidekick Piccionello, bursts into the Venice Film Festival: both move casually among American stars, famous directors and red carpets.