How not to love

In his book L’arte di non amare, published by HarperCollins, Giuseppe Di Piazza formulates a “sentimental guide to the contemporary couple”. The humour that Di Piazza has already shown in his previous novels appears again here, right from the title. The pages are a collection of zesty stories of love and break-ups, hopes and disappointments, with just about everything except any attempt at being a guidebook or a how-to manual. Our stories of love and separation are singularities, as the book attests, also through a skilful play of well-chosen quotations. In general, only one guideline remains: it is almost impossible to live a life that is not filled with a love story. Literature and art speak to us of love. And, of course, so do songs. Philosophers, psychoanalysts and sociologists all write about love. The risk of repetition and clichés could hardly be higher. But not in these pages. Because the personal testimonies that intertwine with the story of the two protagonists, Lucas and Margherita, have the authentic flavour of lives lived – controversial, painful and yet full of hope – in these heart-rending times of ours. L’arte di non amare Giuseppe Di Piazza HarperCollins, 2021