{
  "id": 8213842,
  "title": "Antonella Lettieri On Translating Roberta Recchia’s All That is Left of Life",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/antonella-lettieri-on-translating-roberta-recchias-all-that-is-left",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-18T09:06:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Literary Hub",
    "slug": "literary-hub",
    "url": "https://lithub.com/antonella-lettieri-on-translating-roberta-recchias-all-that-is-left-of-life/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In late 2023, I was asked to translate Roberta Recchia's debut novel, All That is Left of Life. The book had not yet been published in Italy, and its author was not well-known, so receiving the manuscript was akin to being privy to a secret. Intrigued, I agreed to read it over the holiday season. The story takes place in Rome during the 1980s and chronicles the lives of three generations of the Ansaldo family, dealing with the aftermath of Betta's murder at the age of sixteen. Betta and her cousin Miriam sneak out one night to attend a beach bonfire, but only Miriam returns home. Marisa and Stelvio, Betta's parents, experience emotional turmoil, while Miriam hides her own connection to the traumatic event. Her addiction to drugs begins as she seeks solace, ultimately leading her to meet Leo, a small-time drug dealer who becomes her savior. All That is Left of Life garnered significant popularity in Italy, selling over 200,000 copies and remaining on the bestseller list for more than two and a half years. This novel is a masterful examination of how individuals cope with grief and trauma, ultimately discovering ways to surmount what seems insurmountable. One of my most cherished memories from working on this novel is not a translation memory, but reading it for the first time during my Christmas trip back to Italy. Flanked by strangers, I was filled with anticipation and tension, crying over Marisa's grief at the quarter mark. I finished the book the next day and struggled to keep my excitement to myself during Christmas Day. Recchia's craft is evident in the excerpt on Lit Hub, where we witness the reactions of Betta's family, the police, and the town to the murder. The challenge was to maintain the tautness of Recchia's storytelling while translating, as it tends to expand \"physiologically.\" As my second full-length translation, this experience taught me the importance of multiple drafts and focusing on small details like word-level repetitions, gestures, and social class nuances, which reveal the emotional landscape of the characters. Once the first draft is complete, it may seem like the translation is finished, but for me, it is merely a chance to slow down, read the book thoroughly, and ensure the English version retains its coherence. After completing the first draft, I trusted the novel's unstoppable momentum to render well in English and focused on the smaller details that bring the characters to life. All That is Left of Life deeply moved readers with its sweeping emotions but also excelled in balancing big, choral moments with intimate scenes. Its success led to Roberta Recchia's second novel, Io che ti ho voluto così bene (I, who loved you so much), published in Italy.",
  "summary": "Toward the end of 2023, I was approached to translate Roberta Recchia’s debut novel All That is Left of Life. The book was still a few months away from publication in Italy, and Recchia’s name wasn’t on anyone’s radar yet,",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}