The Hypocrite

What happens when we stop idolising the generations above us? Stop idolising our own parents?What happens when we become frightened of the generations below us? Frightened of our own childrenWhat happens when we realise our parents' views are outdated, wrong - even harmful?What happens when we realise our children's views are naïve, wrong - even harmful?How do we deal with generational divides?And should we hold our tongues for the people we love? Should we make allowances for them? If strangers deserve unvarnished judgement, why not them?The Aeolian islands, 2010. Sophia, on the cusp of adulthood, spends a long hot summer with her father in Sicily. There she falls in love for the first time. There she works as her father's amanuensis, typing the novel he dictates, one about sex and gender divides. There, their relationship fractures.London, Summer 2020. Sophia's father, a 61-year-old novelist who 'does not feel himself to be a bad or outdated person' sits in a large theatre, surrounded by strangers, watching his daughter's first play. A play that takes that Sicilian holiday is its subject. Her father must watch his purported crimes play out in front of him.