Il supplente

Neither a novel nor a confession nor an essay, though it incorporates elements from all these genres and revolves around them, Il supplente offers a sounding  and erratic writing, not subjected to any design, that isolates movements, seasons, atmospheres on the blank page. Because it does not pursue originality of expression but, rather, aims to revive the meaning of life through words. Puccinelli envelops the act of the substitute-writer in fears and warnings, and the character – in the act of writing – takes the place of a friend who failed the task. Thus, literature appears assimilated to the action of re-ascending, resurfacing, of moving from the bottom of something for the humble spell of people that no title or specialisation make skilled at the task. Huddled people with no role, occasional substitutes name what others desert and leave behind. While Il supplente is first and foremost a metaliterary text embodying a simple idea (though neither obvious nor too popular) of literature with simplicity, this does not rule out other potential interpretations.