It is a hymn to freedom and at the same time a ruthless historical reconstruction of colonialism and the slave trade the Ildefonso Falcones’ latest novel, Slave of Freedom (Longanesi). In the oxymoron of the title, the sense of the work is revealed. Combining past and present and tracing a parallelism between 19th century Cuban colonialism and the racist shadows that permeate contemporary society, it launches a powerful message: one cannot be a slave to a master. We need to live just according to freedom, the supreme ideal to fight for and which breaks every chain.
With Mario Di Caro, La Repubblica.
