Many Lives arrives in bookstores (Castelvecchi, Tasti series, 152 pages, 17.50 euros), the first novel by Daniele Frongia, former deputy mayor of Rome and now an official at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. After his essayistic debut a few years ago with E io pago (Chiarelettere, 2016, written with Laura Maragnani), Frongia measures himself with narrative for the first time, penning a story on the thin border between personal ambition, power and human fragility.
The plot: Rome, padel, appearances
Elena, the protagonist, is 38 years old, has a brilliant career and a life full of social relationships. Between padel tournaments, business meetings and elegant dinners, his existence seems dominated by efficiency and success. But beneath the glittering surface of Rome lies a world of secrets, compromises and shadows.
During a crucial year, told in the first person, Elena discovers that her balance is more fragile than expected: inconsistencies, small details out of place and people with ambiguous identities threaten to reveal a reality different from what it appears. Many Lives is the portrait of a microcosm where power and appearance are intertwined, and where the search for authenticity turns into a personal and at times dangerous journey.
Who is Daniele Frongia
Born in Rome in 1973, Daniele Frongia has a technical-scientific background. After the years spent in the Capitol as city councilor and deputy mayor, he continued his commitment to public administration, today holding a role at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
With Many Lives, Frongia momentarily abandons the political dimension to tell the city from an intimate and literary perspective. Rome remains at the center – with its contradictions, its lights and its background – but this time the story becomes a filter of emotions, desires and vulnerability.
A narrative debut that promises to intrigue both readers passionate about urban stories and those looking for a mirror of our times in novels.
