“He loved his mother deeply, but he was ashamed to show it. That’s why he was rebellious and disobedient.” We took a risk: deciding to read a book based on the cover, of which we had a superficial knowledge of the author. When we then saw that it was a book of short stories, not our favorite genre, we understood that the risk was complete. Yet, as often happens with texts with which we start...
“VENERDÌ RE-VERSO” “It was horribly clear that my life up to that point had been a mistake.” “There are books that should be prescribed in a pharmacy: read 5 pages a day. Therapeutic indications: relieves and reduces the pain of living (and immediately a young Leopardi appears to us intent on stealing the secrets of the female universe and, above all, of good humor). “I feel bad about my neck” reminded us of a...
“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,...
“FRIDAY RE-VERSO” ““What are your requests?” – “We want to see the sun.”” There are so many things we would like to say – it is so difficult to allow ourselves to talk about such great, so unjustified suffering. However we try, because that’s what we can do. “Mulberry Leaves” comes out in 2020. We are in 2024. We would like to say that the situation has worsened but reading these pages we immediately...
“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...
“…the euphoric state reveals itself for what it is, a manifestation of fragility…” When was Milan born? Pay attention to the question because it is not understood in the sense of the first agglomeration of people who reside continuously in a specific territory, but how was Milan as we know it today born? Capital of no one knows what. Once of fashion, once of industry, once of culture, once of finance. A continuous addition 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...
