Writer and human rights activist Nadeesha Uyangoda returns to Sardinia to present her first novel, "Dirty Water."
This work marks her debut in fiction and will be the focus of two events as part of the Éntula literary festival: Tuesday, October 14th in Cagliari , at the Siotto Foundation with Mamadou Mbengue, and Thursday, October 16th in Sassari , at the Tavolara Pavilion with Gemma Maurizi. Both events will be held at 7:00 PM.
After the success of the essays "The Only Black Person in the Room" and "Bodies That Matter" (66thand2nd), Uyangoda changes register, but not mission.
In Dirty Water, in fact, narrative becomes a tool to continue to question the present : migration, belonging, identity, poverty and war are intertwined in a story that spans continents and generations, telling the story of a family divided between Italy and Sri Lanka.
After thirty years of living in Milan, protagonist Neela decides to return to her home country. But that journey home is far from peaceful: like an ebbing tide, it exposes the fragilities and tensions of an entire family network. Also at the center of the narrative are Ayesha, Neela's daughter, who lives an uncertain and disillusioned daily life in Italy, and Neela's sisters, Himali and Pavitra, who remained in Sri Lanka, grappling with the consequences of the war, poverty, and the burden of memory.
Uyangoda weaves a plot where the private becomes political, and where identity is revealed as a complex territory, never static, constantly negotiating between society's expectations and the most intimate truths . The lucid and cutting writing does not give in to nostalgia or sentimentality, but constructs a story that restores dignity and depth to its characters, often marginalized by the dominant narrative.
Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Brianza, Nadeesha Uyangoda has established herself in recent years as one of the most authoritative and original voices on the Italian cultural scene .
A human rights activist, podcaster, and contributor to international publications such as Al Jazeera English and The Telegraph, she also hosts the podcast “Sulla razza,” which explores racial issues and power structures in Italian society.
With Dirty Water, the author confirms her ability to craft literary and socially engaged writing, offering readers a different lens through which to view the world. This novel speaks to those who feel torn between multiple identities, to those who have experienced emigration firsthand or through their family's stories. But it also speaks to those who simply want to understand what it means to search for a sense of home in a world that often pushes you to the margins.
The meetings in Sardinia—made possible thanks to the collaboration between Éntula, the Municipalities of Cagliari and Sassari, the Siotto Foundation, the Tavolara Pavilion, and numerous local partners—are a valuable opportunity to reflect on the role of literature as a bridge between cultures, generations, and memories.