A Woman’s Last Name

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

In the beginning, there is Rosa. Born in a small Sicilian village at the turn of the century, her nature reflects the flower she is named after: a blooming rose perched on thorny wood. She can’t help but envy the freedom her father and brother are allowed. But then she meets Sebastiano Quaranta, a man alone in the world, with no father, mother, or sisters. They run away together, marry, and open a tavern, which becomes a central meeting point for the villagers in the four surrounding towns.
Before long, Rosa gives birth to two sons and a daughter: the handsome Fernando, Donato, who joins the seminary, and Selma, whose hands are as delicate as the embroidery she masters. It is a talent that her daughters will inherit from her.

Selma grows up to be too beautiful for her own good. “Her daughter was meek, like her father. Rosa looked at her and thought no, that was not a good trait to inherit. A kind man, who never got angry, was a good thing. But a girl, with those same gifts, was a misfortune.” She falls in love with Santi Maraviglia, and marries him against her mother’s advice. Her worst fears prove to be true when he becomes the head of the family and squanders Selma’s inheritance.

The consequences of Selma’s marriage fall upon her three daughters: the rebellious Patrizia, Lavinia, as beautiful as Virna Lisi, and Marinella, their father’s favorite, who dreams of studying abroad. Fortunately, they are watched over by the spirit of their grandfather, Sebastiano Quaranta. He protects them even in their most challenging moments, after they leave their village at Santi’s behest. This novel weaves the reader into an epic drama of ordinary yet unforgettable characters, women who struggle to find their identities and reappropriate their last names.

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

Winner of Bancarella Prize 2024
Winner of John Fante Opera Prima Prize 2024

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
Romania (Editura Univers)
Russia (Alpina Publisher)
Spain (Seix Barral)
Film rights optioned by Clemart