Daisies know how to wait. The true soul of women.

Writer , food critic and fine interpreter of the human soul, Roberta Schira – already author of the successful novel “I fiori hanno sempre ragione” – returns with “Le margherite sanno attesa” (Garzanti, 2025), a delicate and powerful work in which the relationship with food , home and the land become a pretext for a refined examination of female interiority, human relationships and the way in which each of us can “heal ourselves”, rediscovering the sacredness of simple gestures.

The novel has much in common with the previous one even if the stories are very different…

Once again, at the heart of everything is the relationship with the senses, the exchange between generations, the (sometimes painful) bond with family, the relationship with the land, memory, the magical atmospheres of homes, and the ability to forgive the past in order to embrace change. What all my characters have in common is the ability to evolve, looking within themselves but also sensitively grasping signs from the external environment to embark on an inner journey and find themselves changed, "healed." In the first novel, the journey was largely individual, but in this one I brought together several protagonists. By bringing them together in a single place, I tried to immerse them in worldly situations, but also ones rich in supernatural meanings that they must discover. Each will succeed in doing so with her own sensitivity, embarking on an intimate journey towards individual change.

The whole plot revolves around the kitchen. Why is food so important?

The kitchen plays a central role, not only because it's consistent with the area I know best, but also because it's the heart of the home. The kitchen guards the hearth and is filled with gestures that are both practical and sacred. It's the place where matter is transformed, and where the fruits of the earth become nourishment not only for the body but also for the soul, an instrument of love or heartbreak, a means of transmitting a uniquely feminine sensitivity. As the act of preparing food, it becomes a tool for the pursuit of beauty and happiness, but also for creating a small democratic community around the table. One of the protagonists, Irene (Greek for "bringer of peace"), strives to offer her companions surprising and refined flavors, yet the most significant moment is accompanied by a simple food like polenta with cheese. Cooked in the Great Fireplace around which the women gather like vestal virgins, the recipe becomes a symbol of abandoning the masks of appearance to lay themselves bare before one another, each to themselves.

The house takes on a magical aura. Why?

"La Mariconda is the result of all the stories and emotions intertwined within its walls. It is the place that allows the protagonists to live together, but also to each enjoy their own space; it is a temple that preserves memories and reveals secrets, demands attention and in return welcomes and makes one feel safe from internal and meteorological storms. Each of the women I describe establishes a different relationship with the house (Camilla through the recovery of a long-denied inheritance, Bianca in its daily care, Irene with her work in the kitchen, Gaia with photography and Giovanna through self-isolation in her room) but it is in the common spaces that the "miracles" are performed: the discovery of the songbook, the confessions and transformations that occur in the kitchen, the rebirth that takes place in the garden... The house becomes a therapeutic space, where the discipline of "doing" takes shape. Hence the metaphor of the beehive: the place where a community with rules works together and where everyone does their part, to feel good within themselves. himself and with the group".

Even the male characters have their importance.

"Like women, male characters are never "neutral," simple extras, but have a precise and functional connotation that further brings out the women's personalities and internal dynamics."

And her manifesto for “Gentle Feminism”?

It is a declaration of awareness and a commitment: it arises from the recognition of gender differences and the desire not to erase them in anonymous equality. It is an invitation to mutual appreciation and a renunciation of the denial of all those aspects and contexts in which beauty and femininity are expressed, both in the past and today: love of home, attention to the care of others, care for the body that should not be mortified. A clearer vision of female solidarity: an ideal sisterhood that does not exclude rivalry and envy, but which in its most intelligent forms transforms into the ability to listen to one another, give voice to each other's silences, and work for the advent of new generations of women—and men—more self-aware and free to self-determine. All this without fighting against men, but walking alongside the best ones. Like little Sam, Giovanna's son, the seed of a new male sensitivity towards the world of women and vice versa. Chiara Di Paola