Relatives, as we know, are a great thing, but there are all sorts of them and understanding them is far from easy. Some are pushy, others have nothing, still others are overbearing or successful.
We then need guidance, not too serious, to learn to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of our relatives and act accordingly.
Teresa Porcella, a true Cagliari native, and Roberta Balestrucci, from Macomer, then take care of guiding us in the parental tangle with their " Parenti serpenti " (Rizzoli, 2024, pp. 144, euro 16), with rhymes, stories and illustrations (by Marianna Balducci) very impertinent. The result: a colorful gallery of the most disparate types of relatives that we all have, a gallery consisting of ancestors, uncles, cousins, brothers, with their merits but also many defects, to be read and reread together! And if some typology really doesn't tell you anything... try looking at yourself in the mirror suggest Teresa Porcella and Roberta Balestrucci to whom we first ask how the idea for the book was born.
Teresa: «It's a project that I've been carrying with me for over 15 years. On the other hand, being the last of 7 children must also be useful for something. Let's say that for a long time I had a human sample (between close, less close, acquired, blood and chosen family members), which led me to think that describing the parental categories by playing on the alphabetical catalog in an ironic way could be an effective way of saying serious things by opening glimpses of unusual points of view. The game of using the endings in –ents, to identify the category, would have been an indication of the playful interpretation of the book. I kept the project on hold for many years, until I found the right people to create an editorial 'family': Roberta Balestrucci and Marianna Balducci are two extraordinary women, whom I love, and with whom we joke a lot. Precisely this complicity in laughter was the element that made me decide to 'play' Snake Parents with them. Then, I must say, the Rizzoli publishing house was the perfect fourth player: we worked very well together."
What type of relatives are you closest to?
Teresa: «Without a doubt the CRIMINAL. The story I tell (which is true...) made me love the protagonist at the time (in reality a male) who in my opinion was a perfect example to indicate the kinship between those who tell stories and those who really cheat in life. The essence of the narrative pact is hidden in delinquency: whoever tells lies and whoever reads or listens is happy to be cheated. I couldn't help but re-evaluate the category... And then, let's face it, there were Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha from Arsenic and Old Lace. Two of the most lovable delinquents in the history of cinema. Let's re-evaluate the criminals."
Roberta: «Lately, because of friends and relatives, I feel tied to my CONSULTANT relative. It's not an easy assignment, but when you are appointed to give advice, or 'the' advice, to act as a peacemaker and to sort out various complicated situations, it means that you are and are becoming great. And then, who in life, at least for once, wouldn't want to be like the irreplaceable Atticus Finch?".
What is the parental category you would always like to stay away from?
Teresa: «I would say the 'sneaky' bully, the one who believes he has to do your best at all costs: very dangerous».
Roberta: «I think the relative 'I have – a – toothache'. You will find this at the end of our stories, but I think it is the most difficult relative to manage... a continuous complaint, a permanent blindfold!".
How did the illustrations that accompany the book come about?
Teresa: «So, here we should let Marianna Balducci speak, who could say best of all. I can only say that, as part of the project, I had requested that the initial letter of the treated relative be included in the drawing. From there, Marianna flew high, proposing, in the meantime, a work with real, and not digital, collage, which she then photographed, using appropriate lights, generating an extraordinary depth of the image. A very careful job to maintain the ironic key, the surprise, within a maniacal study of the color palette, with which we also interfaced in the graphics".
But are relatives really snakes? Is it better then friends?
Roberta: «And what if friends also become relatives? It's a great challenge!