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Eva Giannetti
| Name: | Eva Giannetti |
| Joined: | 4 years ago |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Hometown: | Unknown |
| Life Story: | Eva Giannetti was born in Scotland of an Italian bloodline, due to this she was variously described as ‘a Tally’ a ‘papist’ or ‘an Italian’ depending on the convictions of the Scottish speaker; to balance things up on the family’s regular visits to Italy she would always be ‘l’inglesina’ the little English girl. “To this day the Italians have never really grasped the concept of United Kingdom, to them the whole thing is ‘Inghilterra’.” This constant categorisation as different meant she grew up always feeling a one of them, never a one of us. This sensitivity towards the outsider, to the others’ points of view is a core element of her writing. The outsider’s view and the theme of home being where you live as opposed to where you came from was the starting point of her first, semi-autobiographical novel ‘Searching for a Dolce Vita’. It is a year in the life of a italo-brit divorcee returning to ‘the old country’ in the hope of starting over. In it Eva also gives a worm’s-eye view of the differences between her two heritage areas from perspective and on areas different from those normally mentioned in travelogues and ‘life in Italy’ tales. This is Italy seen by someone who knows the place deep down, with a lifetime’s knowledge and understands what is seen and what is meant to go unsaid and unseen by outsiders. She also gives a small overview of Russia, where she worked as an industrial consultant for some years during the period of change from the Soviets to a free market, from USSR back to Russia. “Probably one of the fastest and most interesting transitions in the modern world.” According to Eva. Again the historical parts are fine and dandy but it is everyday life, the feelings she experienced and, of course, the people she met that Eva finds worthy of discussion. “The normal ones are great, the rich do everything one dislikes in the nouveau riche. They make you want to slap them.” she says bluntly. It ought to be said that ‘Searching for a Dolce Vita’ was written while working for a company addicted to useless, time consuming meetings where virtually only the men talked. “It was infuriating and retrograde beyond belief, but rather than spend each meeting ranting and raving and trying to have my say and instead of taking notes – as was expected, being the only woman present - I’d let my mind wander off and would write my stories. Noone ever noticed, which proves just how much of a game corporate meetings are. It’s a self-congratulatory kind of club.” For her first collection of short stories Eva used her experience with her women’s self-help group. “Long before Christmas came round you began to sense the anxiety growing. For lonely people it is the loneliest time of year. Everyone wanted to express feelings, tell stories, try to find a common bond to help them overcome their feelings of exclusion. The book was both a means of raising money for the hospice and of giving the girls a focus and a means of sharing their troubles. “It didn’t raise much money but it did raise lonely spirits, which is probably more important.” Once again the stories reflect her empathy with those who feel excluded. Another experiment in understanding the marginalised (though written for younger or more light hearted readers) is ‘Cat’s world’. In it Mr. Cat shares his humorous view of mankind and the animal friends that share his seaside village home, as he changes social standing and gains in understanding of the bizarre habits that are a ‘normal’ part of life today. Seen from the outside Eva’s working life is rich in experiences but she says “I’m just a Jack-of-all-trades”. It may be the easiest way to describe someone whose career spans 4 continents, and perhaps 10 different professions including teacher, marketing manager to the emerging Russian markets, development consultant to the post revolution Ortega government in Nicaragua, development consultant for industry in Congo and Tanzania, hotel manager, office manager, self employed industrialist, dog breeder and shop-keeper. “I’m old fashioned.” She says of herself “I believe that you can do anything you want, if you want it enough. I don’t really believe in the modern tendency to hyper-specialise – at least not for ordinary everyday work. That’s OK for surgeons or mathematicians (though I see no reason why they too can’t do other things). All my work has been about applications of my knowledge of people what they need, what they want of a place or how to make them give of their best. That makes one job very like another.” She laughs and adds “A very successful, important man once told me that the difference between success and failure is usually just down to persistence. It’s something most of us should bear in mind.” Of course the breadth of experience helps with the writing, but first and foremost it is this interest in people the curiosity of what goes on inside their heads, what is felt rather than said or seen, that makes Eva write. Her writing is at once an attempt at sharing and at understanding. Currently she is working at a new collection of short stories and at “cleaning up the text” of her latest novel ‘A night out’. What do a group of ill-assorted women have in common? Why do they meet regularly when they don’t even appear to like each other. When they do meet what is going on inside? A banal pizza night is the start of an insight into what is probably in the heart and mind of many a woman in today’s uncertain world. In the meantime you can taste a wee sample of her unedited work on Shortbread. “It’s fantastic being in there alongside writers who have already made their mark. The more I read the more I realise they are craftsmen of a skill writers like me are still trying to master. The best thing of all about this site, from a writer’s point of view, is the feed-back from the readers. Please readers keep them coming.” |
| Personal Website: | None. |
| Favourite Authors: | Mary Wesley, Jane Austen, Neil Munro, Renato Fucini, Lilian Beckwith, |
| Favourite Stories: | We don't yet know what Eva's favourite books are |
| Interesting: | Eva's sign is Capricorn. Eva has read 0 stories in the last 2 months, listened to 0 and was last seen online 9 months ago. Eva has contributed 12 stories to Shortbread. |