A Woman’s Last Name

180,000 copies sold

Winner of Bancarella Prize 2024

Winner of John Fante Opera Prima Prize 2024

An engaging family saga that marks the debut of an extraordinary talent.

The story begins with Rosa, born in a small Sicilian village at the turn of the 20th century. Strongwilled and yearning for the freedom reserved for men, she runs away with Sebastiano Quaranta, a man with no family. They marry and open a tavern that becomes a social hub for the nearby towns. They have three children: Fernando, Donato (who joins the seminary), and Selma, a gentle and talented embroiderer. Selma, too beautiful and too meek, marries Santi Maraviglia despite Rosa’s warnings. Rosa fears her daughter’s gentleness will lead to misfortune — and she’s right. Santi wastes Selma’s inheritance and dominates the family. Selma’s three daughters — rebellious Patrizia, stunning Lavinia, and studious Marinella — face the consequences of their parents’ choices. As they try to break free from the past and find their own identities, they are quietly watched over by the spirit of their grandfather, Sebastiano. This novel is an epic family saga centered on unforgettable women who struggle to reclaim their voices, their power, and their names.

What remains of the grandmothers, the mothers, and the women who came before us?

What remains of the grandmothers, the mothers, of all the women who came before us?
As in a well-crafted seam, women are bound to each other through a thread that is often unseen, hidden in the folds, in the inside of fabric, in the memory of a basting, in the knots hidden at the edge, in the subtle mending. However, if you look a little closer, you will find a sturdy thread of feminine legacy. This is what Aurora Tamigio does in this exciting novel, a tale in voices that unassumingly unfold because women’s surnames almost never survive, but the stories of their mothers and their grandmothers before them are also our history. Without them we are half of ourselves. We need them to understand who we are and where we came from. Rosa, with her ability to create a home, despite everything, and to make room for the spirits that will defend her children. Her daughter Selma, whose three daughters receive the threads of regret and loss, but also the old Singer sewing machine with which to shape them. Patrizia, the eldest of the sisters, who draws her resilience from Selma’s and Rosa’s gifts and rejects all that is superfluous. Lavinia, who inherits her grandmother’s wisdom and beauty. Marinella, the youngest, who owns her anger but also the freedom that none of the women who came before her ever took. And perhaps the two are linked. Together and around them are the men: the unwavering uncles, the companions for life. There are traitors, inseparable friends, and impossible loves. And a spirit that hovers over them all, with memory and protection, to blur the line between those who live and those who have lived but are not forgotten.

Rights sold:
France (Calmann Levy) two book deal
Germany (BTB PRH) two book deal
Poland (Wydawnictwo Dolnoslaskie) two book deal

Portugal (Bertrand Editora)
Romania (Editura Univers)
Russia (Alpina Publisher)
Spain (Seix Barral)