From the struggle for civil rights to the role of women, from motherhood to friendship, the debut novel by Margherita Marvasi (“La donna drago”- “The dragon woman” in English) is an exciting and passionate story, able to return the most subtle emotional nuances with a clear, compelling and deep writing. The Chinese metropolis and the uprisings for rights at the heart of a novel that links the path to female autonomy to the struggle for democratic freedoms. This novel is able to unite the human story of a woman who discovers herself in married life as an expat (an expat, as they say) in contact with the hongkongers’ struggle, namely the young protesters who from spring 2019 to January 2020 fought against China on the streets of Hong Kong.
Lavinia’s love for Marek is as unexpected as it is overwhelming. A total feeling that is based on a great attraction and on the promise of building a family together. When Marek receives a proposal to work abroad, the two, hungry for life, novelty and success, in a few weeks move to Hong Kong. But in this city, where lush nature creeps through skyscrapers, where traditions clash with the rules of business, for some men it is easy to get lost and fall into temptation, among drugs, alcohol and beautiful women. And so, as Lavinia becomes increasingly involved in street protests for democratic freedoms, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand what is happening to their relationship and what is the insurmountable limit that her love can tolerate.
Here Lavinia discovers her true self. But in the novel we have another important character: she is Livi, a young Chinese girl: she could be one of the guys who struggled in Hong Kong for their future. Another DRAGON WOMAN.
