Since the publication of ‘The Great Derangement’ I’ve received many reports of freakish weather from friends and readers. One such arrived on May 31, from Turin. It was from
Anna Nadotti,
who has been my Italian translator for thirty years (see also this earlier post).
The message, which was written in Italian, was really vivid, so I decided that I would translate my translator (with her permission of course).
There was a hailstorm here in Torino yesterday afternoon when I was coming home, at around 4. Coming out of the Metro I found myself facing a scene out of ‘Bladerunner’. It seemed like night had fallen and the narrow streets of the city centre were literally fuming in the darkness, giving off a dense vapour that fell back upon the city minutes later in the form of hailstones, so heavy that umbrellas couldn’t stand up to them. The storm lasted just a few minutes but was extremely violent, with gusts of wind that could sweep you away.
I was just a few blocks from my house but like everyone else, had to take shelter in a shop, for the fear of giving myself a barnacled head. The sound of the hail hitting cars left quite an impression. The storm was followed by a heavy downpour that flooded the streets.
The question on everyone’s lips was: ‘What’s happening to the weather? It seems like the end of the world…’
In fact it was the infernal aspect of the city that was so striking – the sudden darkness, the vapour, the shards of hail….
There are a few videos of the storm on Youtube.
Infinite thanks for lending your fine and elegant writing to THE critical issue of the years to come – the preservation of a liveable planet — and for your persistent reminders. My book club just finished your “Shadow Lines” with awe.