Andrea Bajani is an international writer-in-residence at Rice University and the author of “The Anniversary.”
When writer Andrea Bajani released his novella, The Anniversary, in his native Italy, it caused quite a stir — and sold quite a few copies on its way to winning Italy’s top literary prize. That’s because it shattered a taboo.
In a country where the idea of family reigns supreme, the story’s narrator slowly works his way through the reasons he decided to never see his parents again. The anniversary in the title refers to him marking ten years since severing those toxic ties — a period he describes as “the best ten years of my life.”
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Bajani admits, the milestone is a bit of a strange anniversary.
“Someone is kind of celebrating this moment where he kind of decided to claim the right to feel safe,” Bajani said. “And after ten years he wants to write his version of the family story.”
As the book is released in English, Bajani, who’s an international writer-in-residence at Rice University, will take part in a reading and discussion Aug. 24 alongside novelist Claire Vaye Watkins at Houston’s Congregation Emanu El as a part of Inprint’s Margarett Root Brown Reading Series.
In an interview with Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty, Bajani talks about the book, the complicated nature of our relationships with those closest to us, and everyone’s right to feel safe.
Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media
Writer Andrea Bajani in the studio at Houston Public Media.