Towards the Witch: Maria Grazia Calandrone on the trail of her mother who abandoned her

Three out of five titles competing at Strega 2023 tell of personal suffering with hints of tragedy. The fourth is “inspired by a true story”, of war. The fifth presents itself as the biography of a revered writer, with a strong tendency towards identification: the many letters written by Tonio the aviator to his mother are apocryphal.