This side of the sea: Travelling in Italy

Saber is a young boy from Tunis who arrived in Italy hidden in a container. The novel is the story of his journey in our country, and as he begins his inner journey towards adulthood. Geography, buildings, and institutions of today's Italy accompany Saber on a path of transformation through suffering, humiliation, annulment, and maturation through experience and encounters.At the center of his thoughts are almost always comparisons between cultures, heritages, aspirations, and ways of being, often to feel that he is not up to his dreams because reality is concerned with dismantling them with surgical precision. The homesickness, the awareness of the deception that changed his life, the remorse towards his invalid mother, and the worry that this, too, is a sign of a marked destiny become even stronger.The people Saber meets during his journey, the places where he organizes small pieces of life, become ideas and models to build his dimension as a citizen of the world and of Italy, with all the hardships and disappointments that accompany this process that is not yet entirely over. Some will teach him to understand what he wants to become, and others will lead him to take different paths and choose rupture paths from the traditions and culture of his country of origin and his family. Others will strengthen his beliefs by helping him maintain his identity and personality.This novel deals with the contemporary history of Italy as it is read by a young uprooted immigrant, full of hope and tormented by the ghosts of a recent past that has marked him forever. It is, above all, the story of a country that welcomes and rejects, that sweeps problems under the carpet and prefers to close its eyes when it is lifted. The topography of the novel considers a world that is not too underground, that develops a few steps from us, and that we would not even see if it were not for the many volunteers and social workers who, by taking care of it, bring it out in all its power.In the novel, news and fantasy, real characters - some called by their real names, others barely mentioned - are mixed with places and institutions. The vocabulary, reflections, and adventures are those of a boy who tells his story in a confrontation with his peers and adults whom he has chosen to trust.

• | Author: Mariano Turigliatto
• | Publisher: Independently Published
• | Publication Date: Aug 29, 2025
• | Number of Pages: 164 pages
• | Binding: Paperback or Softback
• | ISBN-13: 9798262659388