Francesco Sole: “Loneliness terrifies me”

The moment Gabriele Dotti answers the phone, in art Francis Sun, he is eating unseasoned boiled rice in anticipation of the gargantuan banquets he will allow himself during the Christmas and New Year holidays in his native Modena. «From tomorrow I’ll start getting addicted to everything, especially tortellini and lasagne», Sole confesses, explaining that she is slowly taking measures as she gets older. «At 20 I could drink vodka and rum until 6 in the morning, not go to bed, have a McDonald’s for lunch and be fresh as oil. Today, at 30, with two shots of tequila I find it hard to wake up the next morning», jokes Francesco Sole who, despite everything, continues to return to the bookstore every year with a new novel – «Now I make books at Christmas like Michael Bublè with songs», he says with a smile.

The latest in order of time is The love story that will change your life, published by Sperling & Kupfer, a novel inspired by the love story of his grandparents and linked to the sacrifices and effort that two kindred souls can face to keep a relationship alive. The protagonists, Adrian and Carla, coexist with this thrust that Francesco Sole manages to translate into words following – as he himself says – a more mature and aware pen, concentrated on telling the different nuances that are part of the common thread of all his novels: love.

As you get older you gain authority, especially when you publish novels. Agree?
“It depends on the content and the things you do. I notice this thing a bit because it is physiological: in the last few books there is inevitably a greater maturity, especially in this last one, which is the one I like best among those I have written and reread».

Did you know that many writers find it hard to re-read old novels?
“Because they write badly (laughs, ed). Seriously, it is obvious that there is always room for improvement, but personally I have always managed to find a very measured lens to look at the past. When I reread a novel I wrote many years before, I contextualize it: the first one, for example, came out when I was 20, I was on TV, and I felt a little embarrassed and emotional about sharing a story. All the things I do I did the best I could in that moment, and that’s why I always try to find something positive. For me, books are always a crescendo».

A very mature answer: how do you feel you have grown in these ten years?
«Before I had more exposed nerves, I felt the cold and I was at the mercy of insecurities. Then, slowly, you cover them because you understand that, when it’s cold, it’s best not to go out without a scarf. In general, I often play the card of having done my best».

When presented on Instagram The love story that will change your life he said that, in his heart, he hopes this novel can change the lives of readers. A big responsibility.
«Sentimental choices change our lives, it is useless to deny it. In this novel I talk about two characters who let themselves be guided by the dreams and perspectives they thought could change their lives. Today we often feel that we should be the best version of ourselves and that we should surround ourselves with so many things that we don’t need to improve but the risk is that, in the end, you live alone. Loneliness isn’t beautiful: it’s always looking for a new you, a new version of you, and this in the long run takes you away from the meaning of life. The important thing is not to become more beautiful, rich and intelligent, but to build something that can last forever, and the story is about this».

Loneliness scares you, then?
«Loneliness is a complicated thing, even if a distinction must be made: it is one thing to feel good about yourself and another to feel good alone. After so many years I can say that now I’m fine with myself, but I’m not alone much. I live my solitude well because it is limited: when I write, I spend weeks alone, between the lake and the sea, but they are moments that I specifically choose and try to make functional to my serenity. I’ve been single for years, but I’m never alone. Loneliness terrifies me. If I had to spend too much time alone, I think my sadness would reach very high peaks».

She has been single for some time but continues to write romance novels: do you think that having no one by her side helps her to have the right detachment to tell a story?
“I do not believe. I’ve basically written a book every year, but I don’t think it’s influenced me whether I’m engaged or not, and it’s hard for me to tell the present when I’m writing. In this last novel, for example, I tell the past by transporting it to the present and trying to perfume it with the future».

Also because then, let’s face it: being single doesn’t exclude dating.
“Exactly. Usually the Rio Carnival you enjoy it more when you are single through the famous fleeting and casual acquaintances. In short, if one wants to have fun, it is facilitated ».

In your penultimate novel you talked about dating apps: have you ever used them?
“They don’t drive me crazy. When I was younger I could have, but I’ve never been a great lover: I like the meeting, the coffee, the table».

Let’s go back to the past: what would you have liked to be when you grew up as a child?
«Every time I told my grandfather all the things I wanted to do until the day I told him I would do all the jobs in the world because I would be a writer. The book unites, it makes us see the differences while reading the same thing».

In 2014, when I asked her if she ever had the dream of television, he replied: «I wanted someone to give me some attention». Do you find yourself in this answer?
“Attention can be declined in different ways: I’ve always had the desire to be able to tell more than to have attention, and that’s why I followed the path of books, I was looking for a way to express myself that would make me feel good”.

In recent years you have both worked in the shadows and put your face to it: what do you prefer?
«I think I’m somewhere in between: telling the things I write at the theater, at events and every day on social media allows me to show myself often, I’m not so in the shade. You see me all year round because basically I like to tell my books: I really like my things. If I write them, it means that I have heard them and that they have helped me».

A curiosity: do you still write the post-its that made you famous?
«Not lately, I have digitized myself. I made several moves and it was hard because I had all the post-its lying around in the old house. Today I stopped hanging them, but maybe, now that he’s told me, tomorrow I’ll start again.’

An idea on which post-it to start over?
«With an evergreen like: “Remember that what you neglect becomes someone else’s”. A post-it that is also good for the Amazon courier».

I return one last time to the novel, which recounts an extreme and romantic attempt to save a relationship: have you ever thought of a gimmick to be able to hit the other?
«Continuously, but not only in romantic relationships. It’s something that also worked out with my sister: we shared beautiful moments but, as often happens between brothers, also a little complicated, and there, yes, every now and then I put myself on the line. More than the gesture itself, however, I think it’s important to show a change without anyone asking you. Apologizing with a bunch of roses in your hand is useless: roses are useful if you’ve already made it up to you”.

Other Vanity Fair stories you may be interested in:

Francesco Sole: «When I felt suffocated»

Francesco Sole: “I live in fear”

Francesco Sole: «Thanks also to those who hate me»

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