I am Persephone

Kore's destiny had already been written. Her mother, Demeter, had decided that she would rule over nature, never fall in love and always be chaste. This is also what Kore wants, or so she believes until, while walking through the fields at the foot of the Etna, she's kidnapped by Hades, lord of the Underworld, who wants to make her his queen. Thrown into a strange and gloomy world, Kore takes on the name Persephone, but won't be able to neither set aside her previous life nor forget the feeling of the sun on her skin. Yet, Hades gives her free choice and her certainties begin to waver. Which destiny does she really want for herself? To which world does she truly belong? A timeless protagonist in search of her own voice – like all of us – Coluzzi's Persephone journeys, first of all, through her own inner darkness. A true coming-of-age novel where the character follows a non-linear yet continuous evolution (the “child” who at first thinks she knows it all attains self-awareness and free agency), as well as a reinterpretation of the myth through the eyes of Hades's sweet goddess. This is a book for teenagers and, just like them, the protagonist also refuses to submit to an ordained destiny and tries to break free from the narration that others impose on her, ignoring all the rules and building her own world. Etna, the Elysian Fields, the Underworld. The surrounding world appears shaded, in order to leave sufficient room for the protagonist's thoughts, within a fluid, flowing, intriguing and engaging narrative. The result? A Persephone who's not only a girl and goddess, but also a queen ruling over subjects for whom she suffers and cares. Readers will hear new stories from many of them, while childhood memories will bring back others.  

Io sono Persefone (I am Persephone)
by Daniele Coluzzi
Rizzoli, 2022