Cecilia - Softcover

Linda Ferri is the author of the novel Enchantments, a collection of short stories, and numerous books for children. She co-wrote the films: The Son's Room (Palme d'or 2001, Cannes), directed by Nanni Moretti; The Life I Want and Light of My Eyes, directed by Giuseppe Piccioni; and Along the Ridge by Kim Rossi Stuart. She lives in Rome.

Ann Goldstein is an editor at The New Yorker. For Europa Editions, she has translated several novels by Elena Ferrante, The Worst Intentions by Alessandro Piperno, and Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous. She is currently editing the complete works of Primo Levi, a project for which she received a Guggenheim Fellowship Award.

While contemplating the luck of her expansive education (the gift of an unusually doting father), 15-year-old Cecilia muses in her diary, “only a fool would flee his lucky star.” Though determined to find herself through study of the philosophers and to seek solace in song, she feels the impending threat of marriage and the obligation to fulfill her role as a Roman noblewoman in the second century. The angst of oncoming adulthood is rarely addressed in the context of a teenager hashing out the origins of a saint, but Ferri (Enchantments, 2005) handles it with grace. Cecilia is subject to the societal pressures of her time and comes across as completely human in her doubt-riddled search for purpose. Even within the church, she still struggles with her status and as a female, often finding herself at odds with religious leaders. Ferri’s knowledge of second-century Christianity is evident in the way she captures the fear, suspicion, and ostracism thrust upon early disciples. Through her dreams and prayers, Cecilia finds the strength to find peace within herself and with God. --Courtney Jones