Silvia

In Italian culture, to be divorced, alone and female was the unholy trinity. It didn't matter that you paid your own mortgage or were leading a semi-functional adult life; it was simply understood you would eventually spiral into alcoholism, drug addiction or prostitution. Possibly all three. The fact that I hadn't yet succumbed to any of these fates was seen less as a triumph and more as a temporary, suspicious reprieve.

'Silvia is a character so vibrant, flawed, perceptive. The honesty of Maya Caruso's debut novel is equally hilarious and poignant.' - Medina Marchetta, author of Looking for Alibrandi

At the heart of Maya Caruso's sharp, tender, insightful and wickedly ironic novel is Silvia Junior: a 42-year-old Italo-Australian workaholic who's nailed career success but flunked personal fulfilment. Romance? She ghosted it sometime after her divorce.

Enter her mother, Silvia Senior: a widowed Italian matriarch with opinions laced with old-school patriarchy and a Rolodex of gossip-hungry nonnas. She's made it her full-time job to remind Junior that she's alone, unmarried and probably infertile. Their relationship is equal parts love, loathing and mutual dependency - a tangle of guilt, meatballs and inherited trauma.

When an old friend resurfaces, Junior's carefully collapsed world starts to expand. There's flirting, there's dancing, there's actual joy. Shockingly, Senior gets swept up in the action too, dipping a cautious toe into the world of dating.

But as both women step out of their comfort zones, life pushes back. Chaos ensues, feelings get messy, and not even a solid plate of lasagne can fix everything. Silvia is a funny, heartbreaking look at what happens when women - especially ones raised to hold it all together - turn their backs on expectations and go in search of themselves.

'Pass me a prosecco! All eyes are on the clock as Caruso plunges al dente into a big-hearted dish of mother-and-daughter love and guilt, and later-age dating. For Silvia Junior, divorced and approaching the shoals of middle-age, time for sexy romance is definitely running out. For long-widowed matriarch Silvia Senior, it's a case of better late than never again. Silvia is a joyous romp of a novel, sparkling with wit, energy and home truths.' Tony Maniaty, journalist, photographer, screenwriter and author of Shooting Balibo

About the Author

Maya Caruso is a Sydney-based researcher and author whose love of storytelling is as strong as her espresso. The daughter of Italian migrants who arrived in Australia in the 1960s, she grew up in a home filled with loud laughter, much yelling, and endless curiosity about the world.

When she's not writing or diving into her latest research project, Maya can be found chasing after her two children or spoiling her very old (and delightful!) dog. Her work blends heart, history and humour, with a dash of Italian flair. Silvia is Maya's first novel.