Intergenerational novel: 'Entredós', a tale of love, sewing, and family ties

How do you navigate adolescence from maturity? What's it like to have a different kind of love after so many years? How do you make room for new feelings and new projects? Entredós (Edelvives), by Melina Pogorelsky and Maricel Santin , tells the story of a teenager and her grandmother who, despite being away from them for a long time, weave their lives together and share their experiences of love and heartbreak.

The novel follows the stories of both women, who, despite dealing with a significant absence, build a bridge between past and present together. From a kitchen steeped in memories to a sewing workshop that symbolizes togetherness, the work explores love, maturity, and the challenges of everyday life with a unique sensitivity.

Written by four authors , Entredós combines the literary talent of its authors with anecdotes and reflections that emerge from real life. Inspired by everyday observations, the novel delves into the nuances of intergenerational relationships , where love and wisdom transcend age differences. With theatrical dialogue, endearing characters, and an engaging pace, Pogorelsky and Santin construct a story that invites the reader to reflect on the connections that transform.

–How did the idea for the book come about?

Maricel Santin: –We had already written a novel, the second part of the Super 8 saga, and we were already eager to write together again. Then Meli saw a scene in the locker room of the swimming pool she goes to frequently, told me about it, and it was the seed of the entire novel.

Melina Pogorelsky: –After I left the swimming pool, I ran into a group of women coming from aquagym. Once, I overheard the beginnings of a conversation in which one asked another for her phone number. Maybe it was just a matter of organizing a gift for the teacher, but in my head, it played like the beginning of a love story between two women. Since Maricel and I are not only colleagues but also friends, we maintain a constant conversation about everyday life. I left the locker room, shared what I had heard and what I wanted to write, and luckily, she jumped in headfirst.

–What is it like to write with four hands?

Maricel Santin: –It's great for us. We understand each other very easily and quickly. We both have a taste for writing dialogue, for scenes that show the world in a more theatrical way, so we have the ability to unify the tone very easily. In practice, we get together to put together a structure we like and then divide scenes. Afterwards, we intervene (always with advance notice) in all the material until we arrive at what we feel is the novel. In the end, something really crazy happens to us, and we love it: we don't even know who wrote what.

Melina Pogorelsky: –It's fabulous because writing is usually very solitary, and when you do it together, the process is completely different. Writing with someone allows you to reach places you wouldn't be able to reach alone, and it also becomes a very learning experience when you see the processes and resources your co-writer uses.

–The grandmother-granddaughter story is beautiful, how do they nourish each other intergenerationally?

Maricel Santin: When we thought about the characters, we were very interested in developing this theme of generational distances and also of encounters: the points of connection through shared experiences and also through lived experiences. In love, for example, passions and their difficulties are sometimes similar. In this connection, we wanted to show how, if there is closeness and conversation, each age has its own wisdom and can transmit it.

Melina Pogorelsky: –One of the themes in the novel that I think we both find most endearing is how the granddaughter understands what her grandmother is going through before she does. Camila discovers long before Betty does that this “aquagym friend” is more than just a friend. Similarly, the grandmother accompanies Camila's journey with respect and listens, never asking too many questions or failing to offer a word when necessary.

–Why did you choose sewing as the common thread of the novel?

Maricel Santin: Well, I'm passionate about sewing. And I see metaphorical implications in this ancient activity that amaze me. Joining, cutting, and crafting something flat like fabric into something else with volume, something that dresses the body. I also think it's an activity that brings people together through conversation. If it's done in a group, as I do in the sewing workshop I attend, it creates a time, a rhythm, that invites conversation.

Melina Pogorelsky: –I, on the other hand, don't know anything about sewing, but that whole universe allowed us to show the intimacy and the team they form together.

–Who did you look to for inspiration to create the characters?

Maricel Santin: When we first got together to create characters and a plot, we thought about each one with their own characteristics to create a variety of styles and enhance the connection. It was fun because we each thought about our real-life references, like our first great boyfriend or that energetic poet, but we also thought about who would act in the film. In other words, we have a splendid cast to adapt the novel to audiovisual productions.

Melina Pogorelsky: –We started from what Maricel tells us, but we quickly developed all the characters in a way that worked so well for us that they quickly became independent. So much so that if someone had listened to our conversations during the writing process, they might not have realized we were talking about fictional characters. We believed in them and we loved and cared for them very much.

Entredos , by Melina Pogorelsky and Marisel Santin (Edelvives).