The 2010 Chiara Prize goes to Gianrico Carofiglio

The writer, Gianrico Carofiglio, has won the 22nd Chiara Prize. His collection “Non esiste saggezza” (There is no wisdom), published by Rizzoli, received 61 of the 181 votes cast by the people’s jury. This year, there were four finalists, instead of three. The vote count took place, live, in Ville Ponti, in Varese.

Each of the four finalists received a prize of €2500, and Carofiglio received an additional prize of €3000.

The tales in “There is no wisdom” come from everyday places; they are faces that emerge from a crowd of travellers, passing through neutral thoroughfares. They are, above all, women; with them, we share the weight of a painful secret in various forms, hoping they are saved from some terrible destiny. In this clear writing, the need for existential and moral redemption dominates. With natural mastery, Gianrico Carofiglio gives a name to shadows and fears, and makes them companions in a journey that goes to the heart of our deepest and truest emotions.