feeLit 2025: Francesca Melandri

In the organizer's words:

From June 29 to July 12, feeLit - International Literature Festival Heidelberg will be hosting its authors at halle02 for the first time. This new festival venue will be all about books and writing for seven days. This year, feeLit presents national and international literary stars and brings authors together with their audience.

Francesca Melandri - Cold Feet

Moderation: Jagoda Marinic
Reading in German: Jördis Triebel
Conversation: English

Francesca Melandri, born in Rome, is one of the most important voices in contemporary Italian literature. Her debut Eva schläft (Eva sleeps ) also won her a wide audience in German-speaking countries. Above Sea Level was acclaimed as a masterpiece in Italy, and Alle, außer mir (Everyone But Me) became the favorite book of the independent book trade in 2018 and was on the SPIEGEL bestseller list for weeks.

In her new book, Melandri embarks on a deeply personal search for clues: In the winter of 1942/43, Italian soldiers in the Soviet Union had to flee from the Red Army in the freezing cold - many died, including her father's comrades. It was not until the images of the Ukraine war at the beginning of 2022 that Melandri realized that the historic "retreat from Russia" took place right there - in Ukraine.

What did her father experience there? What was never told? And how do wars continue to affect the bodies and memories of those born after? Melandri combines family history with political reflection, memory work with literary power - a book about the lasting effects of war, the silence of the father's generation and the power of storytelling.

Cold Feet is an important contribution to the European culture of remembrance - and a moving plea against forgetting.