“At certain times in life we are more or less close to who we really are.” Let’s start by saying that there’s something extremely essential about this book: everything revolves around a funeral, and—with the exception of the church where it takes place—we move from one house to another, almost without ever changing characters. Now, having said that, I challenge anyone to choose this book, but the author’s power lies precisely here, in our opinion:...
“If they had loved me, maybe I would have been beautiful too.” We weren’t ready to read such a beautiful book. We weren’t physically or emotionally ready. A full-throttle dive into melancholy, with no desire to climb back up. Some passages moved us like we hadn’t in a long time; but this shouldn’t make you think it’s a sad book. It’s a text capable of opening the heart like a child, letting in all the...
On the occasion of Starnone’s new book, now available in all bookstores, I thought it appropriate to recall the novel of hers that has moved me most in recent years: Laces. A book that for me was much more than a simple reading experience: rather, I found myself walking through the four desolate walls of a family that I immediately felt inhabited the same room as me, and emerging a little unsteady, angry and at...
“FRIDAY RE-VERSO” “We are equal, finally, equal, alien, alone.” Ursula Kroeber Le Guin—a woman who, to quote Whitman, contains multitudes. Not only because of her immense literary output, but also because of her exuberant, exuberant wealth of thought, capable of developing as many insights in a single book as an entire library. Each word is the seed of a concept that will be free to germinate in the soil of our minds: the imagery Le...
Published in 1849, Little Fadette is a short country tale combining fairytale elements with a surprisingly precise modern psychological analysis, perfectly capturing the turmoil and contradictions of the human soul. Here, the simplicity of rural life becomes the backdrop for still-timely reflections on individual freedom, Pirandello’s reflection of ourselves and others, and the vindication of feminine virtue. At the heart of the work, set in a remote 19th-century French valley, is the story of two...
“Rome knew. It didn’t know where, how, or who, but it knew.” We heed the author’s warning at the beginning of the text: this is a book that, while drawing inspiration from true events, tells a fictional story. The connection to true history concerns the March 1944 attack on Via Rasella and the subsequent massacre at the Fosse Ardeatine; while the fictional stories are those of the various characters who, following parallel paths, will vicariously...
“Only the victors have a destiny. The irrelevant do not, they are deprived of it. They are not recognized.” A challenging read; to be honest, some complex concepts deserve a second period of reflection, which we intend to dedicate to in the future, to catch our breath from the depths of certain concepts. Philosophy, history, theology, and sociology intermingle in the author’s torrent of words, memories, and reasoning. This is not surprising, considering that the...
Escape. Forced and necessary marriages. Sisterhood lost in pain. Healing music. The marble-like norms of the bourgeoisie. The mysterious thread that ties a life to many places and to no one. Trieste, Italy, and Egypt. Disillusionments. The inexorability of history. The great wars. Being women in the twentieth century. These are the luminous centers around which The Four Wieselberger Girls revolves, a moving memoir and a cruelly sincere tale that draws on all the leitmotifs...
“Caterina is alone. How alone, Maria’s bed next to her tells her. She falls asleep on it.” A book you’ll never put down: and it’s exactly what you’re looking for. A writer who emerges in the Italian cultural landscape like an island in the ocean, ready to rescue disillusioned shipwrecked sailors. A gripping story, but not because the plot is particularly intricate or full of twists and turns: quite the opposite. What keeps you glued...
“VENERDÌ RE-VERSO” “Imagination does not mean lying.” This is a book for children; this is a book for adults; it’s a book for teachers; it’s a book for dreamers: this is Daniel Pennac, ladies and gentlemen. Not all of the French author’s works reach such heights, yet this book should be read and reread at all ages, laughing (sometimes bitterly) and reflecting on many small, important themes, without seeking “easy solutions.” As always, Pennac...
