“Orsola treats me like an adult. As an equal. Obedience doesn’t mean subordination.“ The flavor of the words and the human touch Fleur Jaeggy narrates in this book are unparalleled. They bring back memories forgotten in a short time. Empathizing with the protagonists of the story comes naturally, even though the reader is unlikely to have experienced the events recounted. The immortality of the text lies in the precise reflection of certain interpersonal dynamics, typical...
Many don’t know it, but Luigi Pirandello’s L’esclusa (The Excluded) represents the Agrigento-born author’s first true novel. My advice is to approach this book without thinking about the existentialism of Adriano Meis or the identity crisis of Vitangelo Moscarda, and to expect nothing. Because the truth is that this title stands out from all of Pirandello’s fiction for one very simple reason: its protagonist. A completely unconventional female protagonist, stronger than any other figure portrayed...
“FRIDAY RE-VERSO” “‘I have always wanted to know something about you poets […] What do you do all day??“ Belfast and the 1990s. Two friends and a lot of bombs. Sarcasm and sweetness; so much anger; so much love. And a cat. We’re rereading this book after ten years: we didn’t remember it being so long, so full, and we did remember—yes, that—laughing a lot. What makes this novel so great? Because there’s grandeur in...
“I was a fagot that my mother had left him as punishment, he said. That’s why he hit me hard.” Chile, September 1986. A country in fibrillation for the anniversary of General Pinochet’s coup d’état. On the one hand we have dissidents who, with demonstrations and attacks, try not to bow their heads to one of the harshest Latin American dictatorships; on the other, the military who bloodily represses any expression of dissent, without making...
“Things that don’t matter to some can be as terrible as death to others.” Book divided into two stories detached from each other Hard Boiled and Hard Luck (hence the title H/H). Although indirectly in contrast to the setting, characters and family relationships, the background theme links the two stories: the world of the afterlife, and the attempt to move forward despite the inner pain. In the first story, the protagonist is a young girl...
“The little bit of stoicism I have inside goes away, and the desire not to die, to never die, becomes almost unbearable.” Unique novel, to be read calmly, without haste, and to recommend to your friends as a show of affection. The narrating voice is that of Nathan Zuckerman, who tells the story of his friend Coleman Silk, senior lecturer and principal of Athena College, starting from the summer of 1998, which led to the...
Written by Alessia Colombo This review is available only in the original language. Tipologia: albo illustrato Tematiche principali: famiglia, avventura, natura Tecnica delle illustrazioni: matita e acquerello Età consigliata: 0-6 anni A caccia dell’orso andiamo. Di un orso grande e grosso. Ma che bella giornata! Paura non abbiamo. Così un gruppo di cinque bambini dalle età disparate, assieme al loro cane, parte alla ricerca dell’orso che abita in una grotta sulla spiaggia. Per arrivarci attraversano...
“My alarm clock is my age.” said the old man. “Why do old people wake up so early? It will be because the day lasts longer?” Immense. We can’t find other adjectives to describe such a masterpiece. The stylistic code is immense, the concrete weight of some reasoning and indirect reflections to which the reader is led. We do not discover anything new, many others have written it before us, but falling in love with...
Written by Giada Marino This review is available only in the original language. _______________________________________________________ Oggi ho proprio voglia di recensire un libro per i più piccini, certa però che anche i più grandi lo troveranno interessante. Il libro in questione fa parte della collana che ha creato la Piemme Junior, ovvero I Brividosi. Sono storie scritte da un autore un po’ particolare: il signor P.P.Strello, ovvero un pipistrello che si diletta a creare racconti...
“Bad day for me: I got over it by willpower because I felt broken.” This review is not intended to be a judgment on the historical-political figure, nor a trial on what Latin American history was during the Cold War, a field of confrontation between the USA and the USSR, superpowers engaged in multiple peripheral conflicts to avoid direct clashes, with unimaginable consequences. This is not the place and, frankly, we don’t think we are...
