Andrea Comisso and the Short Story as a Means of Exploring Reality

Contemporary fiction took centre stage at the latest event organised by the International Society for the Dissemination of Historical, Social and Ethical Studies “Manlio Cecovini”, which on Wednesday 22 July hosted the presentation of Ho buttato tutto il resto (I Threw Everything Else Away), Andrea Comisso’s fourth collection of short stories, published by Hammerle Editori, at the Association’s headquarters in Viale Miramare.

Following opening remarks by the Association’s Scientific Director, Luca G. Manenti, journalist Cristina Bonadei led a conversation with the author, interspersed with readings from the book by Sara Alzetta and Antonio Schiavulli. The discussion offered the audience not only an introduction to the collection itself, but also an insight into the author’s understanding of writing and literature.

Ho buttato tutto il resto represents the culmination of a journey towards greater simplicity and refinement. Its title evokes a process of selection, of stripping away everything superfluous. Comisso explained that he excluded numerous stories from the collection because they did not fully reflect the direction he wished to pursue, making each new book a natural progression from those that came before.

Asked by Bonadei about his literary influences, Comisso recalled a wide range of authors, from Jorge Luis Borges and Oriana Fallaci to Dino Buzzati, emphasising that every book leaves traces behind, not so much in one's style as in the ability to observe the world from fresh and unexpected perspectives. Speaking of Buzzati in particular, he highlighted the author's gift for introducing the extraordinary into everyday life, a distinctive narrative quality that many in the audience recognised in Comisso's own writing.

Considerable attention was devoted to the importance of language. Comisso reflected on how, in his early years as a writer, he was naturally drawn to sophisticated vocabulary and complex sentence structures. Today, however, he prefers to simplify without diminishing meaning, choosing only the words that are truly necessary and discarding everything superfluous. In short fiction, he explained, every single word carries weight, and precision becomes essential to preserving the narrative power of the text.

The conversation then turned to the relationship between his profession and his writing. A lawyer by profession, Comisso described literature as an entirely separate space, where he can leave behind the technical language of legal practice and develop a personal voice. Writing, he observed, is above all an attempt to offer readers something to reflect upon, without ever claiming to provide definitive answers.

Indeed, this refusal to offer absolute truths emerged as one of the defining characteristics of his work. In the stories collected in Ho buttato tutto il resto, characters are portrayed without moral judgement, even when confronted with extreme situations or embodying controversial figures. Comisso's interest lies in understanding the inner workings of the human mind, including the challenge of placing himself in the position of those who instinctively provoke fear or rejection. Such an exercise, he stressed, does not imply justifying their actions, but rather seeking to understand their complexity.

This became one of the evening's most thought-provoking themes. Bonadei argued that literature enables readers to confront the darker aspects of human experience without reducing them to simplistic moral judgements, while Comisso observed that contemporary society increasingly tends to divide everything into opposing categories, losing the ability to appreciate nuance. In his view, literature retains its value precisely because it raises questions, creates uncertainty and offers perspectives that encourage readers to reflect, rather than simply accept ready-made answers.

The discussion also explored the nature of the short story as a literary form. Comisso explained that he feels entirely at home writing short fiction, comparing it to a sprint: a limited number of pages in which every word must occupy its exact place. The novel, by contrast, requires a broader narrative rhythm that he feels is less suited to his own temperament.

Questions from the audience opened up further avenues of discussion and prompted Comisso to share more personal reflections, from his youthful passion for science fiction to his belief in reading as an opportunity for personal growth. He concluded by observing that even genres often regarded as "escapist" can engage with the fundamental questions of human existence, and that the finest literature is that which, while demanding something of its readers, succeeds in broadening their understanding of both the world and humanity.

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