Chronicle of a defeat

Set in Gallarate in the mid-1990s, Masnago tells the story of two young people: Elena Rigoli, the daughter of a renowned city notary, about to choose a university major that her parents believe will and must rightly be Law, while for her it will only cause further conflict and nerves; and Andrea Lanciano, the son of a plumbing entrepreneur and a future basketball star, obviously caught between the two. At the same time, the two protagonists' voices alternate, developing two secondary stories: Elena's fight for her rights over her university future and Andrea's strong basketball team's championship. They then intercede in the only real plot involving the two young people: Andrea's father has bought a building at a very reasonable price from a construction company headed by a shady individual, Mr. Dicuonzo, who, however, is also earmarked for further black money. Everything kicks off when Mr. Lanciano ends up in the hospital with an aneurysm, placing the responsibility of the family business on Andrea's shoulders. He discovers the precarious situation of the company and the violent threats from Dicuonzo's henchmen to pay off the company's debt.
The story then continues, bouncing between the mafia, drug dealing, and basketball, also addressing typical issues facing a young man at the beginning of his senior life: uncertainty and the burning decisions he must make, no ifs or buts.
Masnago is a book even for those who know little about basketball, beyond knowing the color of the ball and what a basket is. This is certainly a plus for a game the author wanted to launch for himself. The game begins calmly, with reflections and themes bouncing around the plot, addressed and developed with the lightness that, fortunately, is not that of a basketball. But it's precisely these themes that struggle to hit the mark, continually circling on the metal ring of words, heightening the reader's anticipation, only to be dashed at the end by a completely missed point. The ball is centered and the action resumes: after a few passes, it's intercepted by the complication of the plot, which continues past midcourt, but miserably loses the action, slowing down and descending into banality and a few overly colloquial terms. 
And here, the author's defining flaw: the frequent use of profanity, accompanied by some grammatical inaccuracies caused by the use of such dialectal expressions, such as a person's first name preceded by the definite article. The game continues with long, repetitive bouts of ball-dribble play, until the final whistle stops everything. The post-match technical analysis was inevitable: a decent plot, mediocre formal development, and insufficient to reverse the fortunes of a predictable defeat.

The life of Andrea Lanciano, a nineteen-year-old from Gallarate and a promising young basketball player, is suddenly turned upside down: his father, a small-time plumbing entrepreneur, ends up in a coma due to a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving Andrea with a large debt to repay.
The young man finds himself burdened with responsibilities far too great for him, with the shady Dicuonzo demanding payment through threats and beatings.
Luckily, he can count on the help of his girlfriend Elena, the daughter of a wealthy notary, and his lifelong friend Luca, accompanied by his girlfriend Ale.
The four young men, with their different personalities and temperaments, embody a variety of social genders: the motherless boy who is forced to choose work at his father's company over his beloved basketball; the daughter of a notary who rebels against her parents' plan for her; the young man forced to take on a casual job at McDonald's; and his controlling girlfriend with a penchant for drug dealing.
The novel's author, Giovanni Fiorina, manages to capture the reader's attention through several twists and a compelling, flowing narrative, keeping them on the edge of their seats and involving them in the protagonist's struggles.
Andrea, in fact, finds himself facing one of the most difficult situations at a time when, like most young people his age, he must already face important choices that will shape his future.
Through Andrea's story, Fiorina describes an increasingly complex society, in which the line between good and evil becomes increasingly blurred, to the point that the young protagonists find themselves almost forced to traffic drugs from Switzerland to try to raise money. Eventually, the story is resolved and a certain order is established. Good seems to triumph, but only with difficulty; only order returns, there is no justice. And Andrea will be profoundly affected by it.
Basketball stands out in the background throughout the novel, an ideal place where the young man can continue to watch to find the strength to grow up and save, at all costs, his father's assets.