“As we walked melancholy towards home, a question filled us with feelings of guilt: were war, unemployment, the lack of a home, poverty perhaps a calling for us?” A story of unexpected gentleness. A slow snowfall on Christmas day when you are a child, greeted by the warmth of home and a glass of hot milk. This is the feeling we experienced at the end of reading Mangereta, with the only regret that there were...
“Since I know you, the desire to tell you things has never gone away. In fact, sometimes I thought that things existed for this reason, so that I could tell them to you.” How do we behave if the love of our life is struggling between life and death? How deep would the regret for not having lived the love story with the intensity deserved? Drops of happiness, perhaps lost forever, to chase unnecessary problems....
“They seem destined for each other: they understand and detest each other. They are both thin and voracious: at table and in bed. They are self-centered, narcissistic, overbearing, impatient and ambitious to the same extent.” Lovely book. Reading flows lightly, supported by a simple narrative style (in a positive sense), and the curiosity to find out all the rumors on U.S. entertainment and politics word from the last century. A posthumous and unofficial biography of...
“This is what is striking. The progressive indifference to the weight of the words: “And what did I ever say wrong?” The mounting wave of indifference towards those who are scandalized by racist insult.” Where does the preconception come from? How ancient is the notion of foreigner? Who is the “different”? From where it comes from the need to to dig a moral-racial-social boundary with the other people? The essay by Stella offers a vast...
“All of us every day, when we get out of bed, we have enormous power: we can choose whether to be a help for someone or a problem.” A caress to the heart hardened by the individualism of everyday life. This was the strange effect of the book by Iacopo Melio (Iacopo with the I recommend, otherwise he could became a bit upset), once the reading is finished. So much true that we immediately read...
“Maybe the most interesting tips are those that cannot be given in words.” “What do you mean?” “In the sense that they are like ascertainment germs of a delayed effect.” Relations between parents and children are the most difficult to build. Misunderstandings, weaknesses, communicative gaps and recriminations undermine stability over the years. Giovanni, the main character of the book, is not an exception to this natural law of the world. The long journey by car...
“It’s that there are seven billion people in the world. But basically they are divided into two categories. There are those we love. And then there are all the others.” Live the moment. Be aware of that single moment in life, when everything is going to change in a way that we dare not imagine. It doesn’t matter if it happens against our will or caused by us. That moment is Now. The two main...
“At the head of all is God, the master of heaven. This everyone knows. Then comes the prince of Torlonia, owner of the land. Then the prince’s guards come. Then come the prince’s guard dogs. Then nothing. Then, still nothing. Then, still nothing. Then come the peasants. And we can say that it is finished.” If we were forced to describe the book with a single adjective, there is only one: evergreen. We read Fontamara...
“So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.” To define this book as a simple autobiography would be an understatement. In fact, it represents a political, social, economic, religious and historical treaty that is essential for those who want to understand the United States’ yesterday and today. Through the story of the life of a single man we understand what it meant to be...
“A stranger is recognized at a glance, anyone can see him and memorize his appearance. There is no need to read books, reflect, discuss: is enough to look.” To start talking about “The Shadow of the Sun”, in an accurate and comprehensive way, we must refer to what is contained in the premise written by the author. This is not a book about Africa, but on the people who live there. Never has a recommendation...
