The Heart Equation

After the death of his wife, Massimo, a retired math professor, lives a secluded life on an island in the Gulf of Naples, introverted and taciturn. He fishes with skill and precision, and only exchanges rare and conventional phone calls with his daughter Cristina, who lives in a small town in the wealthy province of Padua. The rhythm of his habitual existence is interrupted by the news of a serious car accident: his daughter and son-in-law are dead, and his grandson Checco is in a coma. Massimo must fulfill his duties. He believes that once the funeral is over, he can return to his island and leave the cold, inhospitable place behind. But he can't. The medical staff wants him to be present by the side of the unconscious boy. Reluctantly, the professor prepares to teach his "own" mathematics, the fascinating harmony of numbers, to his nephew as best as he can. Outside the hospital, he feels the eyes of the city on him, as the sole relative and potential guardian of the child, as well as the potential heir to a business on which the well-being of many depends. How much mystery must be traversed from there? How much human suffering must be endured? To arrive where? Maurizio de Giovanni writes one of the stories he has always dreamed of telling. And he introduces us to a character, tormented and wonderfully human, confronted with the mystery of the heart.

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