Emogene Mangone

“I had no answers, just a never-ending list of questions that I scrawled out until my hand ached, knowing I was searching for a loophole that increasingly felt like a noose.”
― Gina Buonaguro, The Virgins of Venice

“I believe such compassion and prudence is good politics on the part of Mother Marina. If our convent cannot be completely virtuous, better to give the appearance of being so. Thus she keeps her nuns happy as well as the government and the church.”
― Gina Buonaguro, The Virgins of Venice

“We are the bones of this city, the heart, the womb. The hidden structure and architecture behind the beautiful facades. We are unseen yet leaned upon, vessels yet not empty, the home for our families. The hopes of our city are thrust upon us, and we will be punished if we fail.”
― Gina Buonaguro, The Virgins of Venice

“Despite the convent walls, when I was writing, my mind was free.”
― Gina Buonaguro, The Virgins of Venice