Berto has spent his life avoiding life. A lazy math teacher, a cruel husband, an absent father, Berto is convinced that everything that has happened to him is the fault of others and of a life that has betrayed him.

One evening, during a concert, the epiphany: a violinist withstands a cough until the last note. In that effort, Berto glimpses what he has never been able to achieve.

Barbara Codogno was born in Padua, where she lives and works. A journalist, she writes for the cultural pages of Corriere del Veneto.

She graduated in philosophy with a thesis on René Girard and over the years has continued to investigate concepts such as the sacred, violence, the scapegoat, and mimesis. An art critic and curator, she focuses on contemporary art.

The author will converse with Nicolò Menniti Ippolito and Paola Tonussi.