Vendre The Unforgotten: A Novella and Other Stories by Ballerini, Julia NEUF

Stories in The Unforgotten, ranging from a novella to flash narratives of merely a paragraph, are populated by a variety of characters. Among them are Luisa, a beloved childhood servant in Peru, who disappears inexplicably. A child writes that her mom has a lover, a grownup word for boyfriend. Gertrudes lifelong collection of sophisticated words eventually fades into dementia. Charles, a grandfather in a white nightgown and bobbing nightcap chases a bull away from his wifes beloved rose garden. A mother vendre tells her child a story of a joyous snail with a will to live. Adrianna, now a grandmother, reminiscences about a college year in Paris with her best friend who later committed suicide. Henry, who works in a research lab, befriends a rat he names Eloise.

Julia Ballerini was born and raised in Latin America and lived many years in Europe. As an art history professor and critic, she published books, essays, reviews, and curated exhibitions. She also directed the educational program of a drug rehabilitation center for homeless women. Since 2010 she has turned to writing fiction. In keeping with her life, her teaching, and her writing on documentary photography, many of her stories are about understandings and misunderstandings across languages and social customs and within families. Some protagonists are elders confronting failing health and mortality with trepidation, courage, humor, and adaptation.