“At some point it is easier to go to war than to return home.” Attention please. We are faced with a true narrative text, as has not happened to us for a long time, in which the story narrated, modern in many of its aspects, is combined with a dusty style (in a positive sense) typical of quality writing after the Second World War. As we like to specify, the text will last for years,...
“Democracy is exercised not only at the time of elections, but also through continuous confrontation between the majority and the opposition.” This is a book with a clear vision, written by one of the most well-known economists on the Italian landscape, and appreciated internationally. The text is divided into two parts, the first one in which Cottarelli describes his eight-month experience as senator of the republic, and the second one in which he tells the...
“I wonder how many of us live with unfounded fears that perhaps we have unconsciously grown fond of.” If the title of the book is true, then it is equally true that it is books like this that transform prisons into peninsulas. Land languages that come to light at low tide and facilitate communication between islanders and mainland inhabitants. The more texts like these are written and read, the more the strip of land will...
“They found his heart intact because his will was pure.” We find ourselves in front of the book with which we decided to open the third edition of the “June of books – 2024” exhibition in Milan, and which we had the opportunity to read and analyze with the writer himself in great detail. The young author Ceccherini, after having spoken about the monster of Florence in his first book, in this second work recounts...
“FRIDAY RE-VERSO” “Today is my birthday. Everyone come and taste my sautéed pork liver.” When we reached page 50 we wanted to beat up whoever recommended this reading to us; by page 135 we had already cried three times; once we finished the book we were looking for the author’s complete bibliography. (Note to the reader: “The City That Doesn’t Exist” was released in recent days by Feltrinelli.) Yu Hua has mastered the ancient art of...
“I was born to revolutionize hell.” Autumn colchicum is a small autumnal plant, beautiful in appearance, almost harmless, similar to saffron, with the only downside being that it is poisonous. Confusing the two plants is very easy, and if you are not ready to notice the mistake, the risk is high. This is a bit what happened to us when we read this book. Enraptured by an intriguing incipit, we are immediately immersed in the...
“I would like you to become passionate about something that you can do for your whole life.” An Indian family living in the United Kingdom is preparing to experience a pain that is impossible to describe, that no one in the world would want to experience. The death of their mother leaves three little sisters without the most important figure in their lives. The vortex into which they are sucked will also involve their father,...
“Times have changed and so have men.” Ancient text, first published in France in 1931, of atmospheres and settings now uninhabited for almost a hundred years of dust and cobwebs. The protagonist of the long story is the elderly nurse Tatjana Ivanovna, completely devoted to the Karin family, where she has seen entire generations of boys grow up who quickly became men. Almost as an elderly member of the family, in fact, she will accompany...
“We have already been halfway around the world: so why do we feel like we have never traveled before?” Paolo Rumiz confirms himself to be, also in this book, the pen of the wandering traveler that we would all like to be. A fluid prose that at times borders on poetry, due to the pool of words in which it invites the reader to immerse themselves. The text is a reportage of six stories that report...
“Breathe. You are alive.” For those who know the author, and have also read her previous works, this book can be defined as what in television jargon is called a spin off, that is, where the protagonists previously appeared in other stories as secondary characters. Be careful though, because the ideal link between the books stops here, the rest of the story is a separate story, with its own beginning and end. The two protagonists...
