“…Serena / Luna…” is a symbol of maternal love that extends beyond death. It is the story of a life told through a diary addressed to a daughter, in which the protagonist chooses to reveal herself without censorship, allowing unspoken feelings and hidden truths to emerge.
The novel is distinguished by its dual narrative voice: that of the very young daughter Luna, who acts almost as a director, displaying remarkable understanding and maturity, and that of her mother Serena, the unwilling protagonist of a life torn apart by difficult circumstances, who has nevertheless experienced the radiant event of motherhood.
Paradoxically, Serena, fully aware that her life is drawing to a close, chooses to risk losing her daughter’s esteem and affection by revealing who she had been before becoming the embodiment of a loving and caring mother. Her sole purpose is to be entirely truthful and exhaustive in her explanations and, above all, to offer a warning against self-destructive choices.
The pages therefore unfold through poignant poetic passages, inner reflections, lyrical psychological introspection, and accounts of the reckless and dissipated behaviour that marked the years before her daughter’s conception—years lived in an irrationality that consumed meaning and value.
(Federico Fratini)