On Tuesday, the Italian Cultural Institute and Merlin Publishers are presenting an online discussion with Italian authors Giacomo Mazzariol, Paola Frusca and Federico Buffa on the occasion of the publication of their books’ Maltese translation.

Mazzariol is the author of Mio fratello rincorre i dinosauri (2016, Giulio Einaudi Editore), which has been translated into Maltese by Ludvic Azzopardi Ferrando, who will also be present for the discussion.

The plot follows five-year-old Jack, who has two sisters but no brother to play with. One day his parents announce that a ‘special’ brother is on the way. Thus Jack imagines him as a superhero with amazing powers, like the characters in his comic books.

However, when Giovanni is born, Jack soon realises that he has no super powers and eventually learns that his brother has Down syndrome. His enthusiasm turns into rejection and shame.

When he falls in love with Arianna at high school, he hides Giovanni’s very existence from her and his new friends. But in no time, the truth comes out.

Buffa and Frusca are the authors of L’ultima estate di Berlino (2015, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli), which was translated into Maltese by Mark Vella, who will also be present for Tuesday’s discussion. The novel revolves around two characters: a German soldier named Wolfgang Fürstner and a US journalist, Dale Warren, who happens to be in Germany to cover the Olympic Games of 1936. Fürstner was responsible for the organisation of the Olympic Village, while Warren’s character is fictitious.

The discussion, which will start at 6.30pm, will be moderated by Massimo Sarti, director of the Italian Cultural Institute, and Chris Gruppetta, director of publishing at Merlin Publishers.

For a link to the Zoom discussion, visit the Italian Cultural Institute’s website: https://iicvalletta.esteri.it/.