Luca Bianchini's 'The Girls of Tunis' | A Luminous Family Saga

Good news — Flash Radio shares this positive update with you. In his novel 'The Girls of Tunis' (published by Mondadori, Milan, February 19, 2026, 264 pages), Luca Bianchini, with his unmistakable style, paints a striking portrait of unbreakable bonds and hopes that withstand the test of time. He evokes a nearly forgotten emigration, that of Sicilians who left in search of fortune in a cosmopolitan and vibrant Tunisia, then under French protectorate, through the fate of the Brancata family. In 'The Girls of Tunis,' Luca Bianchini offers a luminous and melancholic family saga, where, in the years 1959-1961, Maria, a courageous seamstress, raises her three teenage daughters amidst the trials of daily life and the dreams of a better future. Against the backdrop of a city, Tunis, suspended between the charm of the past and the breath of independence, intertwine first loves, songs by Mina on the radio, and the inevitable approach of farewells. With his unmistakable style, Luca Bianchini paints a striking portrait of unbreak, and hopes that withstand the test of time. In reality, she felt above all a girl of Tunis. 'I didn't really know the story of my mother's family until the day I started asking questions,' recounts Luca Bianchini. In the Borgel neighborhood, the Brancata family in Bianchini's novel are part of these numerous Sicilian families who, in Tunisia, sought 'America' — without always finding it. Instead, they lived in good rapport with the French — who, until then, held power — as well as with Tunisians, Jews, and Maltese. In this cosmopolitan setting, Maria — a beautiful woman of thirty-eight, proud and determined — sees her