In The Background Of The Muse

Fabio is a young mathematics teacher at the Liceo di Locarno and is ready to marry Giovanna. But Giovanna suddenly breaks off the relationship at the beginning of the summer. Changes only colour the soul when they are abrupt and unexpected. But the summer for Fabio will also be an unexpected journey for another reason. There has been a mystery buried for centuries in the memory of Canton Ticino. The conversations about history and mathematics that Fabio has with his friend Jean-Francois will only serve to fuel new doubts about Fabio's role in the world. Fabio will have to fight his way through the thousands of memories that tie him sentimentally to Giovanna and find the new coordinates of his destiny. In the meantime, Fausto, an elderly painter, enjoys the national fame he has gained by investing years in technique and intellect. With no descendants, and knowing that death will soon be knocking at his door, Fausto knows there is a secret hidden within the peace and beauty of Canton Ticino. A secret that has haunted Fausto for decades and which, despite the decades invested in unravelling it, still remains unsolved. In the wind of change, Fabio will have to put the pieces of his heart back together and unravel this enigma, following in the footsteps that Leonardo Da Vinci sowed on Swiss soil five hundred years ago.

Born in Locarno in 1983, Andrea Bruno still lives in Switzerland with his life partner and their two children. In the background of the Muse is his first novel.

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