«There are millions of them who write, I am one who reads. I can’t do it.” With this ingenious paradox Massimo Troisi pictorially photographed the peculiarity of the Italian publishing market. Which resembles a crazy arena, where scriptwriters flock and readers flee. Paolo Kessisoglu56, a successful comedian in tandem with Luca Bizzarri, shares the thoughts of the sublime Neapolitan artist. Yet, with danger sovereign, he has just decided to publish his first novel, Here’s the right time. And he is also busily presenting it around Italy. «Since it’s out now, we might as well spread the word around», winks the Genoese actor, who will be a guest at the 15th edition of “Liberevento” in July. «But I don’t want to deny that Troisi painted a realistic picture. And the situation has gotten perfectly worse. – Photo | video
The interview with Paolo Kessisoglu
Thus he worsens his position.
«Let me finish. The Italian publishing panorama is impressive. Coming out with a book is reckless, I admit it. The point is that I have a valid justification in my defense.”
A careful circumstance, in other words. Let’s hear it.
«My parents died, six months apart from each other. Mother Graziella left in June 2022, father Pietro joined her at the beginning of 2023.”
So no, sincerely moved but what’s the connection with the book?
«Here’s the right time was born to rework a double mourning. Not the form of a bigraphical memory, as the publisher would have liked (he smiles sardonicallyed.). I preferred to create imaginary events, within a plot on the road».
Imagination at the service of nostalgia.
«It’s not just a question of melancholy languor. My double loss has certainly created an unfillable void. But it gave me the extraordinary and paradoxical opportunity to get to know my father and mother better. I mean as human beings.”
In what mode?
«As is usual in these very sad circumstances, my sister Federica and I had to vivisect an avalanche of memories, which emerged from every corner of their apartment: objects, books, clothes, photographs. Furthermore, in our case, around three hundred letters emerged from the classic trunk: a rich collection of letters, which dates back to the times when Lazy was engaged in military service”.
Paolo Kessisoglu talks about himself. And he says: “If I have a personal problem I don’t call Luca Bizzarri, but I love him” – laws
What struck you most?
“All. Read all of this correspondence and take with you your first full account of Pietro and Graziella, already present in their parental role. Beyond social masks. It was an epiphany. I discovered an unusual tenderness from dad, an unpredictable jealous side from mom. I dispelled several gray areas and suddenly saw two people in love. With a reversal of roles and perspectives. It’s astonishing to realize that sometimes we know very little about the most important people in our lives.”
A question then arises spontaneously: would understanding our traveling companions more and better help us bring clarity within ourselves?
«Absolutely yes. Opening and reading that treasure chest of letters was worth more than a thousand psychotherapeutic sessions. It was balsamic vinegar for me and my sister.”
Federica earned an affectionate dedication on the title page of the novel. Together with Graziella, Pietro, his current partner Silvia, and his daughter.
«We met again with my sister. We won’t get lost anymore. Federica is her own person with her partner. He doesn’t know the word envy.”
What if he had to describe mom and dad just as succinctly?
«They were a symbol of kindness, a word that is obsolete today. In life there is a before and an after the death of one’s parents. After all, since you are aware of protection, you have all the weather in the world. You realize that you have always taken their love for granted, but it is not a given. The recklessness of the matter is that it is not easy to understand and disinterest ourselves in our existence. We should try to appreciate them while they are still with us. Often we don’t succeed…”.
This is because the relationship is so sweet that it is no walk in the park. On the other hand, my report with my figures is one of the path. Nice slope, ever. On the subject he wrote a monologue, Sfidati di me, which he staged in the last theater season, directed by Gioele Dix.
«In this case too I took inspiration from bigraphical events, to transfigure them into a scripted narrative. I had my difficulties with Lunita, an aspiring singer, who is 22 years old and has chosen the stage name IamOllie (means I am Ollieed.), to underline its gender fluidity. Now things between us seem to have settled down, although the job of parenting is marked by perennial precariousness. Ollie lives with me in Genoa. In 2025 we were on the Sanremo stage, to sing together Scared of mea song that tries to talk about an obvious youth discount. The Covid emergency has particularly affected a generation that was already in great difficulty. We have no right to look the other way. The psychological health of adolescence is a matter of fundamental importance.
We need to focus on a dialogue free from prejudice.”
The fifth, heartfelt dedication of his debut book is to his current partner, Silvia Rocchi.
«No mystery of He divorced Sabrina Donadel. With which I achieved a balance between exes, which is not easy to find. Sabrina will always be the mother of my daughter. Silvia is a donor. With her I can be who I am, without hypocrisy or pretense. I believe that the feeling of authenticity is mutual. When such an astral conjunction occurs, I would hazard a guess that it is love.”
How much money do you think of Armenian origins on your father’s side?
«Memory is important. So no matter how great a Pope Francis is, you are in a solemn mess in St. Peter’s, all the quality is there, it is the genocide of the Armenian people. But radicalization must be avoided. My grandfather’s legitimate obsession with the horrors he had suffered had instilled in me a sort of hatred mixed with terror towards the Turks as a child. This is wrong.”
Dreams for the future?
«Philosophically, my desire is to maintain the current serenity of mind. More prosaically, I aim to transpose the novel into a film. I’m ready for our other debut. Directing.”
It would be unheard of to close the interview without asking her about Luca Bizzarri.
«We are a de facto couple. Our overall understanding is very strong. The goal is to become like Sandra and Raimondo. That said, it is right that each of us cultivate our own spaces, both human and professional. In full autonomy.”
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