An available woman (Una donna disponibile)

Elena is a 35-year-old woman, married to a renowned lawyer, bored and tired of a wrong marriage and of her life’s insignificant daily grind, but unable to disengage herself from the middle-class conventions.

She meets a young man, twenty-year-old Ennio, and a sensual relationship starts between the two. However, at the end, she is disappointed and realizes that even this relationship doesn’t add anything new to her life. But she finds herself thankful for it.

Laura Di Falco 

Born in the province of Syracuse, Laura Di Falco studied at the Scuola Normale in Pisa (Public institute for higher education). After her debut in 1950 with a short story published in Mondo (an important Italian literary review in those days), she became a successful writer with her first book Paura del giorno (Fear of the day), published in 1954 by Mondadori, which gained extraordinary success among audience and critics.

Courted by the most important Italian publishers, she has also published with Rizzoli.

She was a two-time finalist at the Strega Prize (most prestigious Italian literary award): with Una donna disponibile (An available woman) in 1959 and with L’inferriata (The railing) in 1976, introduced and supported by Noble Prize winner Eugenio Montale. Her novels were translated in many countries. She won the Savarese award with Le tre mogli (The three wives).

Genre: Fiction

Series: Reprint

Available product forms