Marilù Oliva's oeuvre is an essential means of understanding Italy's
complexities of today in relation to those of the past. Like many of her
protagonists, La Guerrera and Martina, she is a flâneuse through space
and time who dares to push boundaries - literary, genre, societal - in
her books and by speaking out at conferences, festivals, book launches.
We have tried to capture a glimpse of her multi-faceted work with our
essays, in English and Italian written in-between Italy and Australia,
including authors from different professions. The authors of the book,
through the analyses of Oliva's oeuvre argue that mezcla is the key to
build empathy rather than hatred, appreciation rather than fear of
otherness, an exorcism of current xenophobia. include gender. and that
tranculturalism and translingualism to help encourage a more inclusive
society.
In the Italian/world noir panorama there still are no texts set within
the world of salsa, or that narrates the origins of salsa. Hence the
uniqueness of the trilogy. Oliva is the first crime writer to foreground
the strong synergy between Bologna and Cuba.
Marilù Oliva with La Guerrera has revolutioned noir and gender in noir,
as well as ensuring the continuation of the genre by changing its skin.
A fast-emerging noir writer from Bologna, unpublished in English -
pluricultural and plurilingual - Like Calvino, she is chameleonic and
surprises readers with mixing different genres and styles in each
publication.
In this multi-perspective book readers discover world myths as
interpreted by different cultures in various continents, the world of
Latin American Gods, literature and music, while connecting with the
greatest Western author, Dante through the unforgettable protagonist La
Guerrera.
The authors', from the antipodes to Europe, will accompany you in
analytical journeys through all corners of the globe in their
comparative readings of Oliva's works, which also focus on current worst
crimes: migrations and violence against women, precariato. Yet, in this
bleak global landscape, both Marilù Oliva strives for to provide her
characters with possibilities and readers with slight relief.
With their different theoretical approaches (gender-based, postcolonial,
anthropological and literary) inclusive of translations into English
from Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, the authors of the book give
readers, Italian and non Italian especially, an opportunity to
appreciate the works of this fast emerging Bologna author who writes
about World literature, culture and myth.
