"Bella Germania" by Daniel Speck is great German-Italian family saga spanning three generations, two countries, three different attitudes to life, three dramas. A story of family, love, betrayal and redemption set against the picturesque backdrop of the vineyards of Sicily, the turbulent political life of Germany and the glitz of fashionable Milan. This novel by one of Germany's most popular writers today is full of subtle irony about Germans and love for Italy.
At our next book club meeting we will be talking about post-war Germany and Italy, generational connection and immigrants. I suggest questions for discussion.
1. The acceptance of the wartime past in Germany and Italy was different. Let us speculate about post-war reconstruction, the changing social map of Europe, the psychology and lives of ordinary people.
2. Immigrant stories like the ones described in Bella Germany are full of hopes and aspirations. Home, moving, putting down roots, social inequality for guest workers. In your opinion, are there parallels between the immigrant movement of that time and today's refugee situation?
3. In the novel Bella Germany, Avor takes us on a 60-year journey through Italy and Germany. One of the central themes is family, the connection between generations. What do you think about this? Give examples from your own life.
4. A close relationship with the family and the resulting sense of responsibility can become a burden, such as unconscious orders and manipulation by parents. Let's speculate on how such a bond affects the lives of children and parents.
5. Let's imagine that we can do this and try to "adjust" the lives of the main characters, if at the right moment they would show their will and act in their own interests.
6. The protagonist Giulia stands between her mother Tania, born in 1968, and her previously unknown Italian family. Her German mother Tania says that true family can be found in friends and mates. Her Italian relatives say that family cannot be chosen, that blood is thicker than water. Which opinion do you agree with more?
7. Daniel Speck shows us different cultures, Italian and German. Which one is closer to you? What positive and less positive features did you notice?
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