La malacarne

With the same narrative force as *La Malnacida*, Beatrice Salvioni transports us to Fascist Italy and makes us see the world through the eyes of two tormented and rebellious, inseparable young women whom history seeks to keep apart. It is April 1940 in Monza, and Francesca has not heard from Maddalena for four years. Her friend is confined to a mental asylum and has never answered the letters she has sent. Is she resentful? Francesca's life has also been disrupted: she has run away from home to live with Noè Tresoldi, causing a scandal. Her mother accuses her of being a degenerate, a loose woman. When Maddalena returns to the village, she appears to be the same brave young woman she always was, but it is clear that things are no longer the same. While trying to uncover what happened at the asylum, and as the two friends attempt to redefine the boundaries and scope of their friendship, the country descends into war, hunger and fear intensify, and Francesca and Maddalena face difficult decisions. Which side will they choose?