Addio, a domani
(Goodbye, till tomorrow) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Sabrina Efionayi has two mothers. One is Gladys, her biological mother, who was born in Nigeria and came to Italy at the age of nineteen to work and support her family back in Lagos. She did not know that her job would be selling her body. The other is Antonietta, who is Neapolitan, and never imagined that one day Gladys would cross the street between their homes and place Sabrina in her arms, asking her to take care of the baby and become her mother. She never imagined it, but when it happened, she accepted. From that moment on, Sabrina found herself in a special situation, because the relationship with her biological mother and her origins did not end. She grew up between Castel Volturno and Scampia, between Prato and Lagos, changing family, language, outlook, and culture, constantly searching for a center of gravity. She has a complex identity, which is already evident in her name: Sabrina, like the daughter of Gladys’ tormentor, chosen to please her and Efionayi, like the man who is not her father, but who gave her a surname.
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
“Addio, a domani” is a novel written by a surprisingly young voice: Sabrina Efionayi was born in 1999 but she already has a rare narrative clarity. Born in Castel Volturno to a Nigerian mother and entrusted to a Neapolitan family when she was just a few days old, Efionayi grew up between two worlds that were linguistically, culturally, and symbolically distant. Her childhood in a predominantly white environment, her move to Scampia, and her first experiences of discrimination at school had a profound impact on the way she viewed herself and the country where she was born but which did not recognize her as Italian until adulthood. A precocious writer published by Rizzoli at the age of sixteen, she started writing and publishing her novels online during her high school years under the pseudonym Sabrynex. Efionayi then chose to abandon ‘escapist’ fiction, with white girls as protagonists, English or American settings, and fictional teenage dramas, in order to tackle the most difficult and necessary story: her own. “Addio, a domani” is an autobiographical novel that delves into the fractures of Afro-Italian identity through the story of a girl who grew up between two mothers, two cultures, and two absences. Efionayi constructs a narrative that alternates between the second and third person to protect herself from pain and, at the same time, to look at herself with clarity. This way, the individual story becomes a collective lens on second generations, on everyday racism, on the silences that mark those who are “too Italian” for Lagos and “too Nigerian” for Italy. The heart of the book is motherhood in all its forms: Gladys’ wounded motherhood, marked by trafficking and survival, Antonietta’s generous and everyday motherhood, which welcomes unconditionally. The book also addresses the issue of white privilege, inviting reflection on differences in opportunity and visibility in everyday life. The writing is clear, direct, and deliberately essential. A necessary novel for those who question identity, belonging, and responsibility, and for understanding how recognition and visibility can change the lives of those who grow up among different cultures and perspectives.