Il Cantico : romanzo

A man, Duccio, returns to the cramped rooms of his childhood, haunted by his mother’s fading voice and the judgments of a town that offers only consolation. As night deepens, strangers pound at his door and the echo of distant prayers mixes with an intimate recollection of his mother’s indomitable spirit, a woman whose kindness once illuminated even the harshest poverty. The opening pages weave together the clang of streetlamps, the scent of mildew, and a desperate yearning for “libertà,” setting a lyrical stage where personal grief collides with societal hypocrisy.

Through vivid mythic observations—like an unnamed Homer lingering at the threshold—Beltramelli paints a portrait of a family teetering between hope and despair, their lives a quiet rebellion against the expectations of their era. Listeners are invited to feel the weight of each whispered lament, the rustle of distant children’s voices, and the ache of a son who refuses to be reduced to a charitable caricature. The novel’s opening promises a meditation on love, memory, and the struggle to claim one’s own voice amid a world that often prefers silence.