Five Days in Thirty Years: Youth, Growth, and Challenges

Youth, university, study, friendship, first loves, personal development, and growth. The first adult problems, victories, and defeats. All of this and much more is in the novel 'Five Days in Thirty Years' by Francesco Fiorentino, a writer, literary critic, and university professor, published by Marsilio. It tells the story of eight young people (Roberta, Emilia, Lea, Elvira, Ada, Carla, Arturo, and Guido) whose lives intersect during their university days in the early '70s. Coming from both wealthy families and the proletariat, they share their journey of human and professional growth, and meet an adult, Professor Onofri, who will be fundamental to their maturation. The characters, in the first two panels that kick off the story, show all their genuineness, made of carefreeness and classic youthful problems. They are about 20 years old and are a group of brilliant students. Ready to fight but also to form very intense relationships. Arturo and Guido, very different but deeply connected to each other, question the meaning of life and destiny. From Fiorentino's pen, they seem to be almost mediocre people, selfish and incapable of finding their own way. On the other hand, Roberta, Emilia, Lea, Elvira, Ada, and Carla alternate moments of deep friendship and rivalry. They share a lot, from passions to assemblies to seminars. They study, argue, live. They are different from their male colleagues, and the author highlights their strong character and the desire to make their way. Their generation, in fact, will be the one where women, for the first time, leave the protective family wing to become autonomous, professionally established assuming important social roles but without abandoning the desire to seek happiness. If the male protagonists may seem a bit subdued, the same cannot be said for the girls to whom Fiorentino has reserved a very different role.