Kimberly Menozzi, Author
Follow me!
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Novels
  • Bio
  • Order Books
  • Contact
  • Reviews
  • Works in Progress
  • Interviews

A Matter of Place - Why Bologna?

20/12/2011

1 Comment

 
_ "Why Bologna?"

"Al centro esatto di Piazza Maggiore
con leggerezza da pattinatore
Bologna adesso voltati
mi fai commuovere
lo sai che esagero con le parole..."

"At the exact center of Piazza Maggiore
With the lightness of a skater
Bologna you now turn -
You move me
You know that I exaggerate with words…"
-        "A Bologna" ("In Bologna") by Samuele Bersani  (translation mine)

I frequently have to explain "Why Bologna?" I mean, I live in Italy – I'm surrounded by historic locations which could have hosted Emily and Davide's story in Ask Me if I'm Happy, right? So why limit myself to a frequently cold and foggy setting in northern Italy that readers might not be very familiar with in the first place?

Well, why not?

The truth is there was no other place as well-suited to the story as Bologna was. I cited some of the reasons elsewhere once, in an interview I did prior to Ask Me if I'm Happy's initial release in 2010: "It's the major train travel hub for northern Italy; it's simply a place I love; it is, as my husband might say, characteristic of the region where I live; and finally, it's a beautiful and historic city.

"Most of all, I feel it's one of the unsung locations in this country. Nearly everyone knows about Tuscany, Rome, Naples and Venice, but very few folks, it seems, are even aware of Bologna. I wanted my area of northern Italy to be represented, for better and for worse, and I think I've done that in Ask Me if I'm Happy."

I've done my best to give a real sense of the city and to show how it affects Emily and Davide throughout their relationship. I tried to not make the story feel like a travelogue, preferring to let the city peek through from time to time, by citing real places and inventing amalgamations of others. From what I've been told, I've done a decent job of it.

In spite of Ask Me… being a love story, I really hoped to write a story which could serve as an antidote of sorts to many other Italy-set stories. I wanted to show the Italy where I – and my ex-pat co-workers and friends – live and work every day. All of us had grown tired of the oh-so-perfect life described by so many novelists and travel writers, the false la dolce vita-isation of these places we know too well. As a result, I aimed to write about this place I've come to love with all my heart, but to write about it warts and all.

Yes, Italy is a beautiful country, there's no doubt about it. I don't deny that, and I do think this aspect shows through in Ask Me if I'm Happy. But there are other aspects of living here which fall quite short of the idealized imagery in those "Ex-pats in Tuscany/Rome/Venice" tales we're all familiar with. This discrepancy is what Emily struggles with, and it's something Davide deals with, too, although in slightly different ways.

From the beginning of the novel right through to the end, I've tried to show the Italy I know in the season I love best: the cold air, the grey skies, and the style of urban living which is the reality for the majority of Italians I know. I wanted to show the romance in a foggy afternoon and in warming one's hands over a hot cappuccino or in the grasp of an attractive companion. I wanted the reader to imagine strolling along the porticos of La Grassa, the city of Bologna, and see her rather weathered charms in all their flawed splendor.

Emily rediscovers these aspects of Italy every time she leaves and returns, just as I – and many of my friends who came here from abroad – do. And every time they open Emily and Davide's story and journey into an Italy they might not previously have been familiar with, I sincerely hope that readers of Ask Me if I'm Happy will do the same.

1 Comment
Nell Dixon link
20/12/2011 10:59:32 am

I think you did it brilliantly. Sometimes the setting is almost a character in it's own right and the atmosphere you conjured up makes this such a wonderful read.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Kimberly Menozzi

    Author. Happily Married. Survivor of life with two deranged kitties.

    Please note: Thanks to an increase in spam comments, I'll be approving the comments before they post. Sorry!

    Archives

    April 2022
    October 2020
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009

    Categories

    All
    150th
    15th
    2010
    2012
    27 Stages
    About Me
    Alternate Rialto
    Amazon
    Anniversary
    Ask Me
    Ask Me If I\\
    Ask Me If I'm Happy
    Ask Me If I\'m Happy
    Audio Interview
    Blog
    Blog Hop
    Bologna
    Book After Book
    Book Covers
    Books
    Books I Love
    Busy
    Buy
    Cameron Chapman
    Catch Up
    Catchupe6eedff5b6
    Celebration
    Characters
    Charcoal
    Charity
    Chris Hollis
    Christmas Lights
    Christmas Presents
    Contest
    Coppi
    Cover Art
    Cover Design
    Critique
    Cute
    Cycling
    Cyclists
    Dead Men
    Debut Novel
    Depression
    Diiarts
    Doctor Who
    Donations
    Doodlebug
    Earthquake Relief
    Ebook
    E Book
    E-book
    Emilia Romagna
    Emilia-Romagna
    Evil Unltd
    Excerpts
    Excited
    Excitement
    Eyecandy
    Fabian Cancellara
    Factoids
    Falco
    Family
    Fiction
    Filtered Light
    FREE
    Friday
    Funfacts
    Gift Idea
    Gift Suggestions
    Giro D
    Giro D'Italia
    Giveaway
    Goodreads
    Good Stuff
    Grammar
    Guest
    Guest Blog
    Guest Blogging
    Guest Blogs
    Guest Post
    Happiness
    Happy
    Hawt
    Heikki Heitala
    Holiday
    Hotties
    Inspiration
    Inspiriation
    International Women
    International Women's Day
    Interview
    Italian Life
    Italy
    John Lennon
    Kimberly
    Kimberly Menozzi
    Kindle Books
    Kitty
    Language
    Launch
    Leopard Trek
    Life
    Ljubljana Witch
    London
    Loss
    Love Story
    Martin Riley
    Menozzi
    Misconceptions
    Misused Words
    Nell Dixon
    New Release
    Novel
    Novella
    Novels
    November
    November 2010
    NSFW(?)
    Oli Johns
    Other Sites
    Otherworld Diner
    Packing
    Photography
    Photos
    Plans
    Process
    Professional Cycling
    Profoundly Shallow
    Promotion
    Published
    Purchase
    Purchases
    Random
    Random Thoughts
    Reading
    Re-cap
    Red Cross
    Reggio Emilia
    Remembering
    Research
    Review
    Reviews
    Richard Pierce
    Ridiculous
    Rip
    Road Cycling
    Robert Stermscheg
    Sad
    SAD?
    Samuele Bersani
    Sarah E Melville
    Self-censorship
    Sexy
    Simon Forward
    Smashwords
    Stage Three
    Story Excerpts
    Story Ideas
    Summer
    T13
    Thankful
    Thanksgiving
    The Next Big Thing
    Think Geek
    Thoughts
    Thursday 13
    Thursday Thirteen
    Time Trial Championships
    To Be Read
    Tragic
    Travel
    Trivia
    Tulagi Hotel
    Twitter
    Uk
    Venice
    Visits
    Weather
    Wip
    Women
    Women's Fiction Writers
    Wordless
    Wordless Wednesday
    Work In Progress
    Wouter Weylandt
    Wow
    Write On Wednesday
    Write On Wednesdays
    Writing
    Writing Process
    Yums

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.