Stelle cadenti

It is the early Nineties in a city in Northern Italy. Ludovica and Edoardo Montella are the teenage children of Arturo Montella, the regional secretary of the Christian Democratic Party. One day Arturo Montella is arrested for “corruption and illicit party financing.” The kids find out on television that their father is accused of collecting bribes, nibbling away at public funds, basically of being a thief. While their father is in jail and their mother is busy with lawyers and defense strategies, they are left alone and without a compass. The only one allowed inside that bubble of suspended time is Tommaso, Edoardo’s best friend. As the days go by, Ludovica and Tommaso realize they are attracted to each other; but the closer they get, the more she has to acknowledge that she has always known that her brother has also been in love with Tommaso, despite never having told anyone about his homosexuality. Arturo Montella is the shooting star
from the novel’s title, but the two siblings are also falling from the sky with him: they were convinced they could have it all, that they were destined to shine, and they are suddenly forced to come to terms with the shame and a disputed first love.