For the first time in Russian, a new book by the famous Italian writer Margaret Mazzantini tells about two mothers who are separated by the Mediterranean Sea. Two shores, two countries, two stories, which are nevertheless interconnected by History with a capital letter. Revolution is raging in Libya. The war begins. In a country gripped by chaos and violence, people have no choice. They have to leave their homeland... But the roots of the events that turned their lives upside down go back to the distant past.

I don’t want to give a lecture or propose an ideological concept. This is of no use to the reader. Literature is about something more magical, more intimate. Catharsis is needed. I simply tried to create time and space for people who are not able to speak out themselves. Margaret Mazzantini