Cris
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Summary:
Lorenzo’s family is a typical Italian family: father, mother, thirteen-year-old sister, and him, a nineteen-year-old who has just graduated from high school. He has everything a boy his age could want: excellent grades, intelligence, good looks. Everything except freedom. Sat in the car with his family and heading off on another forced vacation, he feels anger rising within him for a life that does not seem to belong to him. So far, everything has been decided by others, primarily his parents. During a short stop at a gas station, he unexpectedly finds a solution, the most obvious one: escape. Here begins his adventure to an unknown place that will soon become ‘home’.
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
A smooth and linear reading, but rich in food for thought on complex and current issues. Lorenzo, or Cris, as he chooses to be called, runs away from a family that does not listen to him and struggles to see him as a person with his own inner world, made up of desires and hopes that do not necessarily fit into pre-established patterns. Once he leaves his old life behind, he can finally live on his own terms, and that is how he chooses to dedicate to sex work and starts to build relationships that escape arbitrary and heteronormative models. On this journey of self-discovery, Cris meets Lori, with whom he falls in love, and thanks to her, he also meets Pepe, with whom Lori already has a relationship. What begins as a friendship starts to take a romantic turn with Pepe as well, a beautiful and sincere relationship develops between the three of them, based on complicity, experimentation, and a great deal of tenderness. It is rare, especially in stories written for a young audience, to find a narrative that includes polyamorous love without prejudice, capable of authentically representing the complexity and variety of emotional relationships. Manuela Salvi tackles this theme with great sensitivity and without resorting to simplifications or stereotypes, offering readers a valuable opportunity to reflect not only on the freedom to love, but also on the right to self-determination and to build a life in accordance with one’s own authenticity.