Lost and lonely at a crossroads in her life, Stella returns to the lakeside house where she was born. It was in this very house that twenty years before, Stella had fallen irresistibly in love with the young aristocrat Fausto. She had been fascinated by his fine breeding, flattered by his attentions, spellbound by his dark melancholy. Yet soon their young marriage was plagued by Fausto’s relentless suspicion and jealousy. Her husband had even inexplicably rejected their little boy ever since his birth. The hurt of Fausto’s unjust feelings against the child, followed by a tragic accident, sealed Stella’s vengeful hatred of her husband forever. Like a pilgrimage, Stella had now returned alone to the house by the lake. An encounter with a mysterious painter living in great solitude in the surrounding mountains leads to a rare friendship. This meeting not only reveals to Stella an astonishing fact about her past, but also holds an even greater secret. Hidden in the enigmatic painter’s message is perhaps the force for a veritable ‘revolution of the heart’. For Stella, it bears a lesson in love, forgiveness and healing. It is the formidable discovery of the power of love and the hope for a new life.
Taken from the book by Susanna Tamaro "Rispondimi".