Italian book club - Lo sbilico by Alcide Pierantozzi

Our Italian book club meets to talk about Lo sbilico by Alcide Pierantozzi, one of the most talked-about Italian novels of the year and a finalist for the Premio Strega 2026. “Sbilico” is a word Pierantozzi found in his own notebooks: it names a state of permanent imbalance, the fault line where the mind starts to give way. In this autobiographical novel, the author and narrator, who share the same name, comes back to his small hometown of Colonnella in Abruzzo after years in Milan. His days are shaped by diagnoses, prescriptions and seven pills a day. Around him there’s family, the countryside and old childhood memories. Some of those memories sound invented, like the day a truck full of dictionaries of synonyms spilled its load off a bridge, right at his feet. The heart of the book is language. Words are both the source of his illness and the way through it, and Pierantozzi’s prose is dazzling, precise and often unexpectedly funny. Critics called it “a personal and political manifesto” and “a great novel of de-formation”, one that changes the way we talk about mental illness. Why this book? ✨ Finalist, Premio Strega 2026, proposed by Donatella Di Pietrantonio ✨ Selected by the literary jury of the Premio Campiello ✨ Winner of the Premio Nazionale di Narrativa Bergamo ✨ A rare, first-hand account of psychiatric illness, told from inside it with great literary power A note on the themes The novel speaks openly about mental illness, psychosis and psychiatric medication. We’ll talk about it as readers, with curiosity and care, and everyone is free to share as much or as little as they like. How it works 🗣️ The discussion is in Italian. All levels are welcome, as long as you can follow and join a conversation in Italian. 📖 The book (Einaudi) is available at Metis. ☕ Please support the bookshop with a drink or a bite from our café during the evening.

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🇮🇹 In italiano Il nostro club di lettura in italiano si ritrova per parlare di *Lo sbilico* di Alcide Pierantozzi, finalista al Premio Strega 2026: il ritorno a Colonnella, le diagnosi, le pastiglie e soprattutto le parole, che sono insieme la malattia e la cura. Un romanzo potente, lucido e sorprendentemente ironico, che cambia il modo di raccontare la sofferenza psichica. Venerdì 27 novembre, ore 19. Il libro è disponibile da noi in libreria.

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📍 Metis Books & Café · Gleimstraße 21 · Prenzlauer Berg