An extraordinary story, the new novel by Diego Galdino, when the senses and love come together.
Genre, romance
Read editor, Fanucci publishing group.
First edition 14 February 2020.
Pages 206.
Welcome reader friends, today I will tell you about a book that has entered my heart, I suggest the soundtrack
to listen with reading:
No dorma played by Luciano Pavarotti.
Plot:
Luca and Silvia are two guys like many who live normal, apparently distant lives. Yet every day they touch each other, listen to each other, see each other. The senses perceive the presence of the other without recognizing each other. Until something interrupts the constant flow of life: Luca loses his sight and Silvia is attacked in a parking lot. Their life, upset, leads them to close themselves in another reality and fate seems to forget about them. Yet, two years after their great passion, cinema, makes them known for the first time and Luca and Silvia end up sitting next to each other at the premiere of a love film. The two protagonists, wounded by the vicissitudes of past events, thus find themselves, in spite of themselves, living a story out of the ordinary. But can love be powerful enough to overcome the boundaries of our limits and fears? And fate, when it finds two soul mates, can it get us up and walk together?
Years ago in a particularly sad moment a dear friend gave me a book that gave me the hope to overcome that period, indeed, the certainty that something beautiful would happen in my life, here I believed that I would never read such intense words again. , full of optimism and love ... But then I received in the mail "An extraordinary story".
I would like to thank Simona Mirabello from Diego Galdino's press office and her publisher Leggieditore for the copy right away.
This is the third book I read written by Diego and I can say that it is my favorite, he was able to involve me to the point that I could not wait for the evening to come to read a few pages, I distilled the reading day by day because I did not want to that ended, I don't often read rapt by the words of men, and I usually read romances written by women because their sensitivity is able to understand the female sex in depth. In this case I can say that Diego is a skilled teacher, a sensitive and profound personality who, in addition to knowing women, listens to them, kidnaps them and makes them dream with simple, flowing, loving and unexpected words. The story of Luca and Silvia is a hymn to love, the descriptions are so harmonious, those who know me know that I give a lot of importance to the discovery of the senses, here Diego makes them protagonists, but he does much more because it speaks of my book of the heart , the one that speaks of soulmates, those who sooner or later look for each other and are found in many lives after many years. The twists are not lacking, moments of great intensity that have made tears full of emotions slide down my face, but I don't want to reveal too much.
Diego dedicates this book to his beloved Rome, the one who has always accompanied him every day from waking up to nightfall, but I think he won't want it if I dedicate it to all those who want to fall in love.
Highly recommended reading for everyone, because love is always the center of our lives.
Now I leave you to the words of Diego Galdino who was kind enough to answer some questions, I wish you good luck for his novel and I look forward to reading the next one.
I wish you happy reading Aurora Redville
What do you do?
Actually I don't know how to answer this question ... In all the countries of the world where my novels have been published, my publishers and readers call me the bartender writer. The problem is that I consider the Bar where I work my home because I was born in it in the true sense of the word, while I don't consider writing a job, but my psychologist, a psychologist like that of the Louis Litt of Suits.
When was your passion for writing born?
I started writing very late, but then I never stopped. For me, the first story I wrote remains unforgettable because it was born in a particular way and thanks to a girl I was very attached to ... One fine day she put a book in my hand and said: "Here, this is my favorite novel, I know, maybe it's a genre that women like more, but I'm sure you will appreciate it, knowing your sensitive soul ». The title of the novel was "Homecoming" by Rosamunde Pilcher, and the girl was absolutely right: that book conquered me to the point that in the following weeks I read the author's complete work. My favorite was "The Shell Seekers". I discovered that the biggest dream of this girl with whom I was madly in love was to see in person the wonderful places where Pilcher set her stories, but this was not possible because a serious physical problem prevented her from long journeys. So, without thinking twice, I proposed to her: «I will go for you, and my eyes will be yours. I'll take a lot of pictures and then I'll show them to you. ' A few days later I left for London, with the blessing of the family and the promise of a straitjacket on my return. It was the craziest journey of my life and even today, when I look back on it, I can hardly believe I actually did it. Two hours by plane, six hours by train through Cornwall, one hour by bus to reach Penzance, one of the last towns in England, and the legendary cliffs of Land's End. Dozens of photos of the sea, the sky, the green cliffs , the moss on the rocks, the wind, at sunset, and then at dawn the next day to take the train back and make the journey back together with the commuters of all the saints of England who went to work in London. One day only, but one of those days that change your life. Back in Rome, I left my eyes, my memories, my emotions to that girl as promised and maybe I would have left my heart too, if she hadn't moved with her family to another city because of her problems. of health. We never met again, but it was she who inspired me that trip and in the end everything that literally happened to me afterwards can be traced back to the spark she had ignited in me, the desire to write a story of love that, unlike ours, ended well and then I never stopped until I got to The first coffee in the morning ...
Is this your first novel?
It is my first novel published with Leggereditore, but I had already published five with Sperling & Kupfer, one with the Goddess Planeta in Spain and in all the Spanish-speaking countries of South America, four with Thiele Verlag in all the countries of German language, three with Rebis in Poland, one with Vulkan in Serbia and three with Kragozor in Bulgaria.
What is your kind of reading?
I read a little bit of everything, except horror because I'm a little bit emotional. I consider Ken Follett one of the best writers in the world. Obviously I prefer the romantic genre, Sparks, Levy, Musso, Evans, Zafon, Paullina Simmons, Rosamunde Pilcher, but my book of life remains Jane Austen's Persuasion.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her?
Let's say that to describe Luca, the male protagonist of An Extraordinary Story, I pretended to suddenly lose my sight. As for Silvia the female protagonist, I thought of my daughters, making a mix of both. In fact, Silvia is a girl I would have liked so much to protect.
What message did you want to convey with this story?
That love in novels and movies is really capable of anything and that in reality it never comes late, it just takes its time.
What is your secret dream?
Win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
What would you do when you grow up?
The bartender writer.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
When a romance writer writes a story like An Extraordinary Story, then there's nothing left to do but change the literary genre. For this reason I am currently reading the Breton cycle of Chrétien de Troyes.
Tell me something that changed your life.
When my first daughter was born ... I was very young, we have grown together since then, but she has always been and continues to be the older of us.
In the whale
by Alessandro Barbaglia.
Welcome reader friends,
after the summer break here I am with the first review; I wanted to unplug a bit and dedicate myself to reading, enjoy the magnificent stories that accompanied me in the hot August afternoons, and now I 'm ready to tell you about them.
Nella Balena by Alessandro Barbaglia , 228 pages; Publisher Mondadori (May 19, 2020).
Plot
This is the story of Herman, son of the Mermaid Woman and the Fish Man; is the story of a child who becomes a man by learning to fight from the Elephant Man and by training the great Bird Millman, the poetess of the air, to balance: the most extraordinary tightrope walker of all time, the first woman to dance on a rope suspended in the void between two skyscrapers. Herman is the son of the circus, the classical circus, the one made up of "men who walk with their ugliness, proud to generate wonder". But it is also the story of Cerro, who instead lives in Novara in a house that is too big and too empty because he was soon left without a mother. And also a little fatherless, who together with his wife lost his ability to love in his memories. As a child Cerro counted the time in blueberries: he was able to eat one every second, and he carried CuccioloAlfredo on a leash, a dog who knew how to be sweet only with him. Thus he kept loneliness at bay, feeding on small joys. But as an adult? Will a blueberry still make him happy? Herman and Cerro will never meet, but they will forever have something immense in common, the biggest attraction of the circus: a whale, Goliath, the other protagonist of this story. Cerro's parents met right in front of her, the day the circus was passing by on the shores of Lake Maggiore and Herman was driving the truck on which Goliath was traveling. The love between them was born in the sign of the whale. But what is Goliath: a monster or a wonder? And after all, what is love itself: a sublime dream or a frightening nightmare? Why does the restless Marilisa attract Cerro so much? And what are the dedication and faith with which Herman has been caring for the whale for nearly thirty years? Is there a love more just than another? Or maybe love is always an exercise in submission and elevation at the same time, an obsession that breaks and completes you?
First I suggest the soundtrack for reading: Rihanna - Stay ft. Mikky Ekko
It was really hard to "think" about how to write the review of this novel, because I wanted it to be as unforgettable as this story. It is also true that when you like a book you are afraid of not being able to value it, sometimes you feel unable to express what struck you deeply.
There were too many noteworthy things, phrases, concepts, words that have remained etched in the memory. Alessandro's writing is truly surprising, never predictable, he manages to disarm you with great evocative simplicity. You can't imagine the story and chapter by chapter it kidnaps you so much that you would like to read the book in one go; instead I did the opposite, I read it calmly a few pages a day because I didn't want it to ever end, in fact now I feel a little orphan, that's how it happens when you enter a good story.
I decided to do a short review because I could talk about this story and the characters for hours, people who have lived through different eras and yet are intertwined together, instead I leave the space to the beautiful interview with the author who in this novel deals with major themes: the disease , love, nostalgia, hope, being forgotten children ... I put the plot in full, so you can get an idea of the story and not just my impressions because it is really the best book I have read this year and sooner or later I'd like to write a story like this, a bit crazy and extraordinary.
You just have to read it! In fact, reading is recommended for lovers of all genres, because at first it seems like a fictional story, then an autobiography, but also an adventure story and much more.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
What do you do?
I am a bookseller, which is the best job in the world. Being a bookseller means finding the right love stories - and all stories are love stories - for suitable lovers - and all readers are always looking for a story to fall in love with; it's a job that Cupid would have liked too, or maybe it's Cupid who made me fall in love with this job, who knows ...
When was your passion for writing born?
Eh, this is a good question that I can't answer. I think it was born from the fact I love reading very much, and if you love to read, if you live between words, it may happen that you like someone and you want to try pronouncing them. And then you say, I know, aloud: "Once upon a time", and stop, because it seems to you that it sounds good. Perhaps not very original as an opening, but it works. And not to forget: you write it down.
You write: “Once upon a time there was a boy who did not know when his passion for writing was born”, here, the story could go on like this. It fits. "And then he began to write:" Once upon a time there was a boy who did not know how his passion for writing was born, and he wanted to write a story about it to understand why he liked to write. “And because if I didn't like writing, I would never have written anything, and instead I write…”. Not immediately, in short, but sooner or later history finds its definitive version. Which perhaps isn't an answer, but it's a story and we even wrote it.
Have you written any other novels?
A couple, in 2017 I wrote the Inn of Last Solitude and in 2018 The Atlas of the Invisible.
Who are you inspired by?
To those who want to tell stories that know how to detach me from reality. I don't want to read about things that happen in reality, I want to read about things that make something happen in reality. Calvino or Buzzati type. They write about magical realisms, things that do not happen in reality but that change our perception of reality.
What is your kind of reading?
I actually read everything, even the labels of mineral waters (for example this one that I have near has 7.1 of Ph, which I don't know what that means, then I go to see). Perhaps the books are not divided by genres but only into two groups: the good books, and those should read them all, and the ugly books and those should not be read by anyone. I read everything and if I meet a bad book I abandon it. There is too much beauty to read to devote time to ugliness.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her ?
In the whale it's all auto biographical, I'd like to say it's my autobiography. I don't say this because it wouldn't be true - even if to say you don't say one thing means saying it twice, have patience with me - yet it is what it is. Cerro, Emilio, Herman, the Goliath Whale are always me. What they do may not concern me and I certainly have not done what they did, but I am all of them. That's why it's my really made-up autobiography.
What message did you want to convey with this story?
I wanted to try to say: do you know what a monster is? Do you know what a wonder is? And do you know what the difference is between a monster and a wonder? Are you sure? Come with me, I'll tell you about a wonderful monster and a monstrous wonder and then we'll talk about it. Well, yes, maybe this was the idea. If I succeeded or not, I don't know ... but this was the idea.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
I'm taking notes, reading, trying to feed my next stories with stories, but it's too early to write. I still have nothing to write and when I do, I don't write anything.
Tell me something that changed your life .
The first time I fell in love. That changed my life because a minute later I fell in love with another thing, and a minute later with another. In short, in ten minutes I fell in love with eight stories, a cat and a girl. And when this happens, life changes every time you fall in love and I think I fall in love once a minute. Sometimes even every thirty, thirty-six seconds.
Review of "Intrigo in Costa Verde" by Gianluca Arrighi set in the land of the sun.
Welcome reader friends,
here I am with a new review dedicated to Noir lovers, the protagonist is one of the most read yellow books of the summer “Intrigo in Costa Verde” by Gianluca Arrighi, released last July 16, published by CentoAutori. Below is the plot in brief.
Plot
The Milanese lawyer Daniele Castriota, partner of the Roman law firm Nicotra & Manfredda, comes
shot in the head in the parking lot adjacent to the courthouse. His life hangs by a thread. Alex Manfredda, having received the dramatic news, rushes to the bedside of his friend and colleague, hospitalized in desperate conditions in the intensive care unit of the San Raffaele hospital. Paola, Daniele's wife, explains to Alex that her husband had just taken on a job to investigate the murder of Lorenzo Solinas, candidate for mayor of Coraddu, a small town on the Costa Verde, in the southwestern side of Sardinia. Manfredda then decides to take over from his friend to find out who and why he tried to kill him. Alex, a brilliant criminal lawyer, is a stubborn and obstinate man. The investigation will lead him to the mysterious and seductive Costa Verde, where his strong sense of justice will lead him to clash with mine owners and environmentalists, holders of local political power. At each attempt to arrange a tile in the mosaic, however, Manfredda will always find a different one that strays from its original location.
Well, now that you have an idea of what the book is about, first let's set up a soundtrack that will accompany us in the reading, to immerse ourselves in the Sardinian atmosphere I recommend a song by Tazenda-
Domo mea.
The author Gianluca is one of the masters of Italian crime fiction and is a jurist by trade, noir is one of my favorite genres and summer is the ideal season for me to read them, under the umbrella or on the veranda. When I learned that this novel was set in Sardinia "my land", I decided to take it with me on vacation, rediscovering a piece of my culture, the landscapes of that area of the island are very suggestive and while the pages go by you immerse yourself in scent of the Mediterranean scrub.
The story takes place in Milan, and then moves to Coraddu, the protagonist is Alex Manfredda, a brilliant Roman lawyer who decides to see clearly about the attempted murder of his friend and colleague, to find out what lies behind the appearances. I immediately liked Alex for his intelligence, courage and sense of justice, but also for the humanity that makes him so real with his weaknesses. A character who well embodies the successful man, but who also dedicates himself to his spiritual part, finding himself with the practice of Yoga.
Meditate silently and you can create a whole new life for yourself.
All the characters are well characterized, from Elisa, Alex's wife who is an opera singer and enchants him every time she performs, to Carabinieri Marshal Luca Boi. I felt sympathy for the icy Olimpia Kalb, by which Manfredda is also fascinated, each character is shrouded in a mystery; the story intrigues you and as you read new ideas and other possible solutions to the case are created, the plot is not obvious and until the end you do not understand who the real villain is, even if at the beginning I had a doubt but only because I read Agatha Christie.
The author keeps track of the story well from beginning to end with a simple language but also specific to his profession, after all this is precisely the beauty: looking from the point of view of the protagonist. The prose is simple, flowing and reaches the reader without ever getting bored, there are several twists.
I recommend reading to all lovers of noir, thriller and thriller because it goes well with all three genres but also to those who want to approach this trend for the first time, in fact there are no scenes of violence, but of great suspense.
I just have to wait for the next adventures of Alex Manfredda. If you are curious below a brief
interview with the author who reveals something about himself and his projects.
Enjoy the reading,
Aurora Redville
When was your passion for writing born?
Passion has always been there, ever since I was a boy. The concrete idea of writing a novel, however, came about
ten years ago, when a RAI journalist who had followed some court cases that I had dealt with and which had had a lot of prominence in the media proposed me to tell criminal stories from the perspective
defense attorney. Thus was born "Crimina romana", which beyond all expectations was adopted as a text of education to legality in the high schools of the Province of Rome and proved to be an extraordinary success.
What is your kind of reading?
My favorite readings are still those that accompanied me during my adolescence and then formed me as an author. They range from Edgar Allan Poe to Raymond Chandler, from Dashiell Hammett to
Stephen King.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her?
As I write crime thrillers and thrillers, there are autobiographical features in all my novels. The lawyer Alex Manfredda, the protagonist of "Intrigue in Costa Verde", resembles me above all for the great sense of
justice that he has rooted in his soul.
What message did you want to convey with this story?
In my novels I never want to convey particular messages. I tell about Evil and like the latter
continually spreads metastases in our society.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
I am writing a new novel and a screenplay for a television drama. These days I am instead
reading "Riccardino", the last novel, published posthumously, by the late Andrea Camilleri.
.
Review "Beyond the things I have" by Lauranna D'Alesio
A journey of self-discovery.
Welcome reader friends, today I'm talking about a book
who kept me company these evenings.
“Beyond the things I have” by Lauranna D'Alesio, Viola Editrice (22 May 2020) fiction, 200 pages.
I thought of a soundtrack for reading that had change as a theme and I remembered this sweet E verybody's Changing- Keane.
Synopsis
In Rome against the backdrop of a restless society, this story unfolds which speaks of challenges, values, ideals and passions through the character of Valentina. With her the reader will not only discover suggestive places, but intriguing passions, from friendship to love, from family to the disappointments that with art, music and nature, will be the background to this story as strong as it is gentle. Valentina will travel on a personal journey which, like a fascinating parable about life, will lead us to meet extraordinary characters, through inevitable choices of challenges in search of answers; discovering the secrets and simplicity of an authentic life. It introduces us to a family that, with all its defects and merits, could seem that of all of us at any moment of our life and along the stages of this journey, the protagonist reveals something about ourselves.
When I approach a new reading I usually only read the synopsis so as not to take away my taste for mystery, in this case it struck me for the topics covered, from the first pages of the novel, however, I could not frame the story, it was like a long introduction in which the author presented the characters, their stories, their characteristics and the weaknesses that make them human.
The novel is divided into six parts in which we discover Valentina the protagonist, her relationship with her family, the special bond with her friend-sister Giulia, with her brother Enrico and her first life experiences, as Valentina grows up and makes her own choices regardless of the wishes of their parents, the university and a new city to live in. Then comes Luca, one of the characters I liked the most, with his confidence, goodness and originality he manages to conquer Vale, always looking for a meaning in life. It was halfway through the book that the real story began for me, it involved me with the reflections that are part of everyday life, the meaning of truly important things. Beyond the things I have is an introspective novel that offers intense emotions, the pain of a loss, the challenge to overcome one's fears, challenge oneself to realize one's dreams and be reborn.
I recommend reading to all those who like to ask themselves about the true meaning of life, but also to those who want to read a good story of personal growth in these cold days.
I wish Lauranna the best of luck with her novel and we just have to wait for the next one.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
Review "Asymptotes and other stories in grams" by Davide Rocco Colacrai
When poetry turns into emotions.
Welcome reader friends, today I am talking about a book that has kept me company these days.
A reading that differs in genre from the previous one, in fact it is a book of poems "Asymptotes and other stories in grams" by Davide Rocco Colacrai, Le Mezzelane Casa Editrice 2019.
As always I suggest the soundtrack for reading: The Cinematic Orchestra - Arrival of The Birds & Transformation.
Letting myself be guided by this music, I read the poems in this very original book: it looks like a drawing pad, you would expect watercolors, and in reality I find it very apt because poetry is an art form for me. When you browse it you are captivated by the graphics, and after it dedicates the page entitled "Soliloquies" with one of my favorite quotes from JKRowling: There is no point in taking refuge in dreams and forgetting to live, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".
I expected a lot from this book and I must say that it did not disappoint me, I love poetry and Davide Rocco Colacrai is a true poet.
I have always thought that to write them you have to study a lot, but even if you learn to write verses they cannot teach you to say what you feel deep down, because it takes great sensitivity, I have also understood over time that it is a great gift.
I was very struck by the search for detail, accurate descriptions that imply much more than what remains on the surface, a great emotional form dictated by the moment:
"And then again lips that tremble like grapes,
hands that hold memories, or the liquor pain of the next moment,
the flesh to let itself go to the flame of doubt,
silence,
the yearning,
and the expanded expectation of a sense, or at least the physicality of the conjuncture, and more.
We are the constellations that measure the fishermen ... "
Reviewing a book of poems is difficult because each of us has his own sensitivity, you notice and love different things, so you have to read and savor them.
I recommend reading to all lovers of the genre, but also to those who want to get closer to this literary form.
I wish Davide the best of luck with his book and if you are curious, here is a short interview.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
Davide Rocco Colacrai was born in Kilchberg Zurich on 21 August 1981.
He lives and works in Terranuova Bracciolini, in the province of Arezzo.
He loves to present his books in the form of "poetry in the theater" shows, with which he has been touring Italy for some years and for which he was awarded by the Municipality of Fucecchio as part of the "Affabula - The art of telling stories ".
Alfredo Rienzi, Carmelo Consoli , Livia De Pietro , Armando Saveriano, Italo Bonassi, Flavio Nimpo, Mauro Montacchiesi, Gordiano Lupi, Alfredo Pasolini, Massimo Pasqualone, Anna Manna, and many others have written about him.
In his spare time, he teaches mathematics, studies acting, is a radio author for whiteradio.it, collects 45s from all over the world (he owns two thousand), is passionate about modern history, loves reading, practicing outdoor sports with his dog Mitty and travel.
What do you do?
I am an employee for a famous name in fashion and my job is to make customers as happy as possible. A job that requires a lot of patience: sometimes you are a psychologist, sometimes a father or brother; however it is a job that can also give important satisfactions, I am talking about satisfactions on a human level.
When was your passion for writing born?
I usually talk about a talent, a gift, which as such has always accompanied me, in some moments of my life it was more evident, in others less. I can say that since 2007 I have been dedicating myself assiduously.
Have you written any other poetry books? Or do you also write novels?
I have written eight books of poetry so far - the last of which is "Asymptotes and other stories in grams". But I haven't written a novel yet. But never say never.
Are the themes dictated by inspiration?
The content of my poems is the result of my curiosity, of my thirst and attention for the smallest things, let's call them commas in a story that others usually escape, of attentive listening and finally of my pleasure for studying and deepening. I could summarize it all, saying that the issues derive from my courage to tell, to take a stand.
Who or what inspires you?
Life inspires me - the act of living expressed in a song, a book, a film, a chance encounter and even silence.
What is your kind of reading?
I must say that I have developed a real passionate bond with books and I like to alternate genres - from poetry to biographies, from novels to meditation texts, sometimes a university text. I don't miss anything. Among other things, I have a library - they tell me, immense - of which I am very jealous.
Tell me about something that changed your life.
Love - the first time I fell in love "really" was terrible because I felt I was immune to this feeling, I considered it something foreign, distant, to me, something that didn't concern me at all. When the common path ended, I was destroyed, suspended in a kind of limbo, which pushed me towards a new maturity and awareness thanks to which I learned to reflect on things, to never take them for granted, not to be ashamed of what I feel and think. In short, love made me a man.
Review of The Chronicles of Alaster Vol. 1: DRAGON - by Leonardo Tomer
Leonardo Tomer's first Epic Fantasy
Welcome reader friends,
today after a short break I'm going back to talk to you about a book I read in November, a fantasy for all lovers of the genre.
The Chronicles of Alaster Vol. 1: DRAGO - by Leonardo Tomer, Albatros Il Filo editore 2019.
First I suggest the soundtrack for reading: Imagine Dragons - Demons
Plot:
Centuries have passed since the terrifying war against the Void. The Dragons have abandoned mortals to themselves and any form of spontaneous magic seems to have almost completely disappeared. What is left are disagreements between the different races: the elves have long since isolated themselves in their forest, and the dwarves, decimated by bloody wars, remain holed up in their domains. Humans and half races shared the rest. It is in this scenario that the fate of Alaster, a young mercenary, is intertwined with those of the half-man Marcel and the Sorceress Myra during the search for the precious Dragon's Eye, leading him to the awakening of an ancient power dormant within him and to the astounding awareness of its mysterious origins. Leonardo Tomer takes us through the enchanted places of Jordin, inhabited by legendary creatures, where often the characters will find themselves involved in extreme duels. Magic, friendship and adventure meet in suggestive and captivating settings, making this novel a compelling read to be passionate about.
Drago is the first part of a trilogy, the protagonists of the story are the mercenary Alaster, the young half-man Marcel and the sorceress Myra. Jordin is a world populated by fantastic beings, I admit that it reminded me a lot of the settings of The Lord of the Rings, the characters as per tradition are orcs, elves, goblins and Dragons, mythological creatures so loved by me and my children, in full Epic fantasy style and perhaps this is also why I read the book with pleasure, even if the beginning is hard to get started, it is like a long introduction and it is unclear the direction that the story will take, but towards the middle of the book everything comes alive Leonardo takes you to a fantastic and magical world, with great fights in the art of fencing of which his great passion is sensed.
The characters are well described as well as the settings, fascinating places that make you travel with the imagination, it is an excellent read for children and even if my son is only nine years old we started reading it precisely because there are no gory stories, but a sense of magic accompanies you from start to finish.
We just have to wait for the second part of the story, I wish Leonardo good luck with his novel and if you want to know him a little more, here is a short interview.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
What do you do?
I work as a substitute teacher in sports science in upper and lower secondary schools, and as a master of sports fencing in Livorno.
When was your passion for writing born?
She was born with a passion for reading. I've always thought about writing a book, but I didn't have a story to tell.
Why did you write a fantasy? Have you written any other novels?
No, this was my first novel, the first of three.
Who are you inspired by?
To fantasy in general. I am a fan of fantasy books, RPGs and RPGs, which I grew up with and still love. It was my passion for the fantasy setting that inspired me.
What is your kind of reading?
Mostly fantasy, in its various facets, but I also really like the historical adventure novel.
What are you writing now?
I am continuing to write the second book of this trilogy.
Review de
The crystal train by Nicola Lecca
Because a trip can change your life.
Welcome reader friends, today's book review is a tribute to my land: Sardinia.
The author of this new novel is in fact called Nicola Lecca and he was born in Cagliari, even if he lived in many places his origins are well rooted, as often happens to those born in this land.
First I suggest the soundtrack:
I will leave with you by Andrea Bocelli , perhaps a piece by Paolo Fresu would be more appropriate but since we are talking about a journey I think this is better.
Title: The Crystal Train, by Nicola Lecca.
First edition January 2020, 249 pages
Plot:
In Broadstairs, a charming village on the English coast, Aaron works as an apprentice in the historic Morelli ice cream shop and lives in symbiosis with Anja: a depressed and protective mother who keeps her father's identity hidden from him and tells nothing about Zagreb, the city from which they fled when he was little. Luckily Gennarino, his best friend, is a volcano of joy and colors the greyness transmitted by Anja's melancholy with optimism. For his part, Aaron has learned to be happy with little. The taste of mandarin ice cream is enough for him, the solitary walks along the cliffs overlooking the sea and the conversations with Crystal, the girl he loves. They met online and their relationship has been going on for over a year - but it's only virtual. Every time he tries to arrange a meeting, she finds a thousand excuses to postpone. Yet Aaron prefers his incomplete presence to the pain of loneliness. Until an unexpected event upsets everything. From Croatia comes a letter from a notary announcing to Aaron the death of that father who has always been hidden from him, and invites him to reach Zagreb for the opening of the will. By train, thanks to an Interrail ticket. Unprepared and unprepared for life, Aaron bravely faces his little Odyssey in search of the truth. From England to Zagreb passing through Hamburg, Prague, Ljubljana, Bratislava and Szentgotthárd he will finally meet the world: which will test him, amidst risks and temptations, offering unexpected encounters and immense beauty in exchange. With his chiseled and very clear writing, Nicola Lecca creates an exciting contemporary fairy tale. The ingenuity of its protagonist, rich only in his desires, gives life to glittering pages that offer us the disarming purity of a naked gaze: capable of illuminating the complexity of the world, highlighting the paradoxes of online relationships and the hypocrisies of the many traps set. to profit from our loneliness.
There is only one way of scandalizing: sincerity.
This story revolves around an event that happened many years before, but it is also the story of a redemption, even if I cannot give you too many details otherwise I would ruin the ending. The protagonist Aaron is described with the humanity of a boy who lived a difficult life with his 18 years, a sick mother who prevented him from making choices that could change his future. But fate gets in the way, one day Aaron receives a letter that comes straight from a past of which he ignores everything.
The characters that revolve around him are described and characterized with details that go beyond the physical characteristics, the author takes you on a journey through the consciences and thoughts of those who animate this story.
Aaron will choose to discover who is part of his past thanks to a journey through Europe that will take him by train to Zagreb, the city where he was born.
I have always loved books that talk about travel and for this reason I too have always brought a diary to write in mine, Nicola in fact at the end of the book reveals to us that the places he described and that the reader can imagine, are real and he has them. discovered over time.
I recommend reading to all those who love to read and dream with it and discover other distant places, especially in this difficult time to brighten the hours we spend at home.
The plot is simple but well structured, the writing smooth and never heavy.
The ending moved me and I loved this story from start to finish because it is delicate and written with love.
The message this novel has given me is that a simple journey can change our lives forever.
A book that secures a place among the best readings of this year.
Below is a short interview with the author to whom I wish you a big good luck for his book.
Happy reading Aurora Redville
What do you do?
Writer. As certified by the identity card.
When was your passion for writing born?
It has always been in me. I started reading when I was 4.
Is this your first novel?
I published my first book in 1999. Since then I have published two short story collections and 6 novels. "The Crystal Train" is the most recent. Today I have the honor of having become one of the most awarded and most translated Sardinian writers ever. At 43 it is no small thing.
What is your kind of reading?
If I had one kind of reading I would feel incomplete. I read about everything.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel?
Autobiography makes sense if your name is Primo Levi. I am a simple artisan of speaking.
What message did you want to convey with this story?
Nobody. I don't write to convey messages. I write to charm.
How was your passion for travel born?
I am a city collector. I have visited about 400 of them.
Eight are told in this book: Broastairs, Dover, Hamburg, Prague, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Szentgotthàrd and Zagreb.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
Right now I'm promoting "The Crystal Train" and I don't have the concentration to write.
But I always read. I also really like audiobooks. Simenon's "Letter to my judge" is a masterpiece. I'm listening to it again these days.
Tell me something that changed your life.
Every moment, if lived well, can change the course of life for the better.
Review "Our London" by Simonetta Agnello Hornby and George Hornby
A journey to discover a city that never ceases to amaze us.
Title:
Our London
by Simonetta Agnello Hornby and George Hornby.
Publication date:
19/02/2020.
Publisher: Giunti
Series: Writers Joints,
Pages: 360.
Plot:
A two-part hymn to a London that continues to grow and change, where every tide of the Thames brings
something or someone new. The very personal and passionate story of Simonetta Agnello Hornby,
now a classic for those who love the city or see it for the first time, it is now enriched with new places and
curious, described by the ironic and brilliant voice of his son George Hornby. Simonetta Agnello arrives in London
in September 1963. Just three hours from Palermo, she is catapulted into another world, which immediately appears to her as
a place of rituals and magic. The fear of not understanding and not being accepted marks the transition
from adolescence to maturity. He gets married, becomes Mrs. Hornby, has two children. Now he can re-tie the threads of the
memory and accompany the reader in the little-known small museums, for a walk in the parks, in the beloved house of
Dulwich and Westminster, the City and Brixton, where he was a lawyer. At the same time, in the footsteps
by the illuminist Samuel Johnson, captures the soul of his deeply tolerant and democratic London.
The journey continues through the voice of George Hornby, who with his all English humor and a look
open and disenchanted, it reveals news, discoveries, places that have profoundly changed or have finally become
accessible, always permeated by the human stories of those who helped to create them. From the temple of Mithras al
Garden Museum, up to the most famous or singular restaurants and pubs in the city, an unusual path e
fascinating in a London that you have not yet known and that never ceases to amaze. Why, how
says Samuel Johnson, "when a man is tired of London, he is also tired of living."
Review
Welcome reader friends, today I am talking about a book that I loved from the very first pages, as always I suggest the soundtrack that undoubtedly falls on the most famous English group in history: The Beatles with Help.
Those who know me know that I love this city very much, it is no coincidence that I set my first novel here, if you talk about London it is because you love it with all its strengths and weaknesses. As I read these pages I wondered "what kind of book is this?" the answer came by itself shortly after.
Our London is not a novel, but neither is it an essay, it is a dialogue between the author and the reader but
even between her and her London. It is a declaration of love from Mrs. Agnello Hornby to the city that has it
welcomed, she narrates her family events and reveals how at the age of just seventeen she made her first trip to the city and immediately fell in love with it. I found myself in his words, a girl discovering a culture that is profoundly different from her Sicily. A charm that London holds among the youngest, the artists, and all those who aspire to a "different" and stimulating life. His was a lifestyle choice, because when you move to another city you choose it as your new home, but it is also the beginning of a journey because this is London: discovering.
This book could be classified as a city guide but it would be very reductive, Mrs. AH
tells the places and the history that for centuries has been the protagonist within the walls of its historic buildings. A colorful study of its inhabitants, but also of traditions; of the most characteristic places lived by her and her family, daily experiences that have marked her life for better or for worse in a past that for a while was "foreign" but which over time welcomed her as a daughter. It certainly takes time to appreciate different cultures, the historical facts narrated are of great interest thanks also to his elegant and smooth, but also simple way of writing.
A two-part story. In fact, in the second part we find another narrating voice, that of George his
son, who with his all-English humor leads us to discover other places with a different, more open but also realistic gaze, places that have become accessible and always characterized by the human history of those who inhabited them. A story from another point of view because he is disabled and goes around the city with his wheelchair, I was very impressed by his analysis of the architectural barriers that still remain in some historic buildings. Instead, the access to the buses is remarkable, I saw it with my own eyes the last time I was there, a city so modern but with an ancient spirit.
I leave you with a beautiful quote that is also the essence of this novel, in fact each chapter opens with a quote from Dr. Samuel Johnson. If by chance you are planning a trip to London you should definitely visit his house a few steps from Fleet Street, and from the pub which was a frequent visitor to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, I happened to be there by chance and I was impressed by the originality, you will find yourself in a small square with the monument to Hodge the cat of Doctor Johnson in the center.
When a man is tired of London, he is also tired of living;
because London offers everything that life has to offer.
Samuel Johnson
Another little curiosity, Dr. Johnson wrote the first Dictionary of the English Language.
The photo is a portrait you can see at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub at 145 Fleet street.
I wish you happy reading
Aurora Redville
Review
Miss
Memoirs of a married girl by Chiara Sfregola.
When marriage is everyone's right.
Welcome reader friends,
today I am talking about a book that has deeply affected me, I needed to reflect on this for a few days
that he sent me because there were many ideas to write a review, I'm talking about the new
book by Chiara Sfregola
Miss Memories of a Married Girl,
223 pages;
Fandango Libri Editore (11 June 2020).
Synopsis
Since 11 May 2016, civil unions are law. And if much has been written about marriage and about women as much, much less is known about women who have decided to marry each other. To fill this void with her intelligence, Chiara Sfregola arrives who, starting from her experience as a lesbian, as a feminist and as a wife, tells with a step halfway between essays and memoirs what has historically been and what is becoming, today, the marriage. Once the fateful yes was pronounced, many people, even right-wingers, even people who have always been against adoption by gay couples, started asking her when she was planning to have children. Other people, including lesbians, asked about the dress: who will wear the white one? (which is the politically correct version of "who makes the man?"). Some feminists have looked at it badly: tu quoque, do you pay homage to the antiquated institution and collaborate with the patriarchy? The challenge of this book is to answer these and many other questions. For example: if marriage is born as an institution that limits the freedom of wives, what is the meaning of marriage between two women? How can one reinvent, among equals, what has historically always been a relationship of submission? If you don't want to have kids, what are you getting married to do? What happens now that a feminist can marry a "colleague" of hers? The possible answer is one: it happens that the marriage goes to a refresher course. Because if women change, marriage must change too. An essential reading to understand the new family models and invent new ones.
First I suggest the soundtrack for reading,
Two Destinies of the Tiromancino .
This song has the power to evoke situations from the past that are well intertwined with this story; classifying it in a literary genre is difficult, when I started reading it I thought it was a novel but I was wrong,
rather it is a cross between a memoir and an essay because it contains a broad investigation of models
cultural, but also psychological and personal aspects.
The author introduces the topic with a clear and impactful statement: "
When I have to fill out a form I am asked to tick one of these three boxes:
Mr
Mrs.
Miss
Depending on where I put the cross, I not only indicate the gender I identify with, but also who I belong to ...
A man always belongs to himself. A woman - apparently - always belongs to a man ”.
This is the beginning of a strong reflection which is also the most important, because especially since the 20th century there have been many changes in the role of women in society, from the right to vote, to the institution.
"Marriage", but also the right of women to separate from their husbands. There has been a lot of talk about this, but Chiara introduces new arguments, a story aimed at the female, historical references in which the evolution of the female figure and the power that man has always exercised over it is described, together with many data and the factual analysis of the current society.
I was raised and educated by my mother - a woman who could be called a feminist - but
above all progressive (thank you again for this), the first of the -catholic- family to be
separated from her husband, a small scandal when I was a child but it is thanks to women like her that I am here
these changes were made because they made their voices heard with determination, and now Chiara makes us discover a new reality because few have talked about marriage between two women.
I share with you the most important phrase for a company:
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and must act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. "
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
This is a human rights document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, ho
thought several times of these words because if we are all born equal in dignity and rights
why is not everyone allowed to love each other equally?
Sfregola speaks firsthand about her experiences, life as a girl in shared apartments, the
search for a home of his own that marked the transition to adulthood, but also the meeting with Viola and
willingness to get married, because even today it is a need for status, a desire to demonstrate to the world that "we are a real couple", is a model of affirmation in a society that is "evolving differently"
finally!
We are behind other nations but we have arrived: the Arcobaleno families are a reality, like i
LGBT marriages, Italy is considered a gay-friendly nation and public opinion on homosexuality is generally considered increasingly liberal.
Gone are the days when I graduated with a thesis on bisexuality in the ancient world, the title
"Machile, Feminine and Other" demonstrating that homosexuality has always existed (even in the language
Latin) and it is not a modern attitude.
I hope I have intrigued you because it is really a book that is worth reading, but above all
shared, as food for thought, indeed it would be nice to propose it in schools as an education for
feelings, but also as a sociological study.
Soon I will tell you more about this topic.
I wish you happy reading,
Aurora Redville
Review
"Newborn" the world seen by a little girl out of the belly
Welcome reader friends,
today I'm talking about a book that has kept me company these days. A reading that yes
differs by genre from the previous publication of the same author I speak of
Just born the new novel by Francesca Silvia Loiacono, 140 pages, Publisher La
Happy Life (June 23, 2020).
Plot
Since arriving in the World Outside the Belly, Gaia is the pride of her parents. "Baby angelica" par excellence, she sleeps when she needs to sleep, eats her mother's milk regularly and doesn't give any problems ... at least until she hears her parents talking about giving her a little brother. It is then that she decides that it is not convenient for her to be a textbook baby girl and takes as a model the "diabolical baby" par excellence, Ivan the Terrible, son of one of the ladies of the "Moms Group" on WhatsApp, of which her mother belongs. Thus begins a real war against the Great, made of milk regurgitated on clothes and night crying, with which Gaia hopes to change her parents' mind ... But she hasn't reckoned with her mother and the army. of allies that the latter throws at her in an attempt to make her return "angelic": from the shrink to Baby-killer, an exotic and very unorthodox babysitter who will use magic rites and potions to send the Demon away from her body ...
Before talking about the book I suggest the soundtrack for reading, Photograph by Ed Sheeran comes to mind. As in the video, in fact, the protagonist is Gaia, a few months old girl struggling with her new life Out of the Belly.
An angelic child according to her parents but also of the famous WhatsApp Moms Group - which is one of the ironic aspects of the story - until the day she hears her mother tell her father that the time has come to give a little brother to Gaia; this is the central knot of the story because it is here that everything changes: the sweet little girl taking an example from the "diabolical baby Ivan the Terrible" combines some good ones, the strength of the story is precisely the dialogue between the child and the reader.
The world seen through the eyes of a little girl who knows her stuff, who absolutely wants to remain an only child and embarks on a difficult journey to dissuade her parents at the cost of peace and harmony, because let's face it between adults and babies there is a total lack of communication, surrounded by other characters, the grandparents, the brain-tightening who immediately frames her and the Chinese nanny who smells of garlic.
A funny story, a light reading to unplug after a long day, Gaia will introduce us to her world of feedings, regurgitations and naps.
But it is also a declaration of love by the author to her little girl who came into the world and completely changed her life, you can feel the strong bond that binds a mother to a child and the (sometimes traumatic) experience of motherhood. and its implications.
If you are curious, here is a short interview with the author with whom I had a chat.
Enjoy the reading,
Aurora Redville
Where are you born?
I was born in Milan and I have always lived in my beloved city, except for a year spent in Rome to devote myself to the passion of cinema and screenwriting.
When was your passion for writing born?
I've always loved writing, since elementary school. I remember that the Italian teacher one day told me: "Francesca, never lose your passion for writing and metaphor. Yours is a gift that makes you a white fly". I like to rethink these words as those of a mentor who paved the way for me from my cradle.
Why did you choose a genre so different from your last novel?
Before "Newborn" my main interests were love and feelings. This, I think, because I had a complex sentimental path, I did not find a soul mate easily and I also wrote about my love affairs in my books. But then, at 35, after a flash marriage that ended in divorce, love for the right man finally arrived and led to an even greater love: that for my daughter Alice. "Just born" is the result of a change both as a woman and as a writer. I couldn't help but talk about the most important thing I've done in my life: becoming a mother.
What is your kind of reading?
I am an eclectic and not very patient reader: space from historical novel, to fantasy, to "chick lit" to science fiction, to Murakami-style dream novels with extreme ease ... and if a book does not take me within the first 100 pages ... I abandon it mercilessly and move on to something else. Well yes I confess: I am merciless with the written word as I have never been with men.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? I'm curious to know if you are part of the "mothers group" on whatsApp ...
Yes of course, this novel, like all the previous ones, is a mix between autobiography and invention. As for the mothers group, I confess that I was part of it for a short time but it is a story without a happy ending. Maybe one day I will write about this adventure if you are curious ...
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
At the moment I am devoting myself to other forms of writing that do not belong to conventional publishing. I have a novel in my drawer that sooner or later I would like to take back in hand and which talks about my youth at school, but for now I am not devoting myself to it assiduously. I am reading a lot. The last book read is "The lions of Sicily", about the Florio family. A book that I recommend to everyone.
Is there a sequel to the novel?
Just born is a "unicum", like the birth of my daughter, and I would like it to remain so. I don't think she will ever have a sequel, as I don't think Alice will have any other siblings ....
Review of “The Irreducible Irreconcilability of Being: (or the incredible story of
Tony Paguroni)
Welcome back friends readers,
today I'm talking about a novel that particularly struck me despite its simplicity
of history, because it allows you to reflect on the world of social media and of society itself, also because the reader is involved in a young 21-year-old author, who with his novel highlights how social media are often used erroneously as a cultural vehicle. Today I take you to the discovery of “The Irriducible Irreconcilability of Being: (or the incredible story of the young Tony Paguroni) by Simon Schiele.
It is a world that of social networks that allows you to "be someone" even if in real life you are a simple boy, we ask ourselves more and more about the effects that this new "sociality" has on young people,
I admit that I completely ignored these dynamics because I didn't know them now that I use i
social for work I understand the limits and the potential, I appreciate the ease with which they can be known
people with our same interests and I also understand how our society and the way have evolved over time
to relate to others. Not for this we must approve everything that is proposed, but in my opinion
distilling the contents that bind us to a particular theme, something good can be achieved. I don't know if those of my generation have been luckier or if today's young people are, it's not my job, the fact is that there has been an epochal change and we adults should guide and consider the effects they have. about people and those who are our future.
Plot:
Tony Pagùroni: (noun) disco animal of the millennial species, son of a father, with a dream of becoming
influencer. Could such an individual be mistaken for a refined contemporary poet? According to the
social networks, yes. Check out this biting satire on the society of appearing as you follow the story
the self-proclaimed "poet" Tony Paguroni and the phrase that will make him famous. Around him a family
couch potato, bipolar teachers, envious classmates, TV presenters in desperate mid-crisis
age and a mentor with dubious intellectual skills. A lively farce about “saying everything without saying anything”, about
blunders of contemporary society and the fictitious world of social networks. Will Tony be able to make his own
dream? Or will his empty phrases be discovered for what they are?
171 pages
Publisher: Independently published (February 23, 2019)
Genre: satirical
I recommend the book to everyone, it is smooth and light, it can be read quickly, it is an ironic tale that strikes the
reader because Simon knows how to communicate with our language but also with that of young people.
Below is a short interview with the author and as always I wish him a great good luck.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
Interview:
What do you do?
I study at the University of Turin
When was your passion for writing born?
My parents have always made me read, ever since I was a child. But if I have to put a date I would say 7 years old,
when I read Eragon by Paolini.
Is this your first novel?
No, I released Anna in 2018 and will soon be releasing the fantasy I've been working on since I was 7
years and I have read Eragon.
What is your kind of reading?
Before the sociology books arrived, they were the classics, in particular the French of the 19th century. But also Garcìa
Marquéz, Hemingway, Steinback, Salinger, Welsh, a lot of space actually.
Are there any autobiographical traits in this novel?
I think every good novel has something autobiographical about it. If the author doesn't draw a
minimum from his experience the novel is fictitious and constructed.
What message did you want to convey with this story?
The message is simple, really. With social media we are burning our brains. Social media are not vehicles of
culture despite being revered as such. And finally how the young people of today, myself included, find in them,
despite everything, an alternative for the future to a labor market that tends to exclude them.
Tell me something that changed your life.
A girl told me that Anna's message had changed her life. I've never felt so much
useful to the world as in that moment.
Review:
One in ten
by Samantha Errani.
Welcome reader friends,
today I'm here to tell you about a new book: it's not a novel, nor an essay, nor a thriller, but an important parenting guide.
One in Ten by Samantha Errani, 101 pages, Self publishing.
Available on Amazon at the following link:
Synopsis:
“Madam, today your son has to be born. When you hear these words, and walk through the doors of the NICU (therapy
intensive neonatal), "One in ten" will be your guide. During pregnancy, no couple thinks their child will be born premature, yet one in ten babies passes through intensive care before arriving home. I'm Samantha, mother of a baby born with a rare genetic syndrome and a pediatric NICU nurse specializing in severe premature babies. I will guide you on the journey that many parents do not think they have to undertake. "
As always I suggest the soundtrack for reading, the choice falls on Debussy's Children's Corner.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
One in ten is the percentage of babies born premature.
Samantha is an intensive care nurse and never would have thought of having a similar experience with her baby in the ward where she works.
In this particular guide for parents the author explains her personal experience, from the birth of the child to the discovery of a rare disease, the path undertaken with the help of doctors and nurses; but also the doubts and fears that often condition our days, because let's face it: no one is prepared for such news.
This is exactly what Samantha wants to communicate, the courage not to be overwhelmed by events, knowing means understanding and she tells about the places and procedures of the NICU, it is the ward where preterm or very ill infants are hospitalized and treated.
The idea of writing the book has matured over time, just to support parents in this experience, fear and wonder are two constants of the work she does, as a nurse she has seen numerous situations and the sensitivity of the new parents you refer to .
Each chapter describes a phase of therapy: where it all begins, the ward tour, but also the equipment, procedures and relationships with family members, discharge and testimonials.
Everything is real because the aim is to make known and not leave unprepared those who will have to face this path.
All this happens every day, once in ten.
And if it happens to you that you are reading, you will be lucky enough to have a guide to take with you, which will help you understand what is happening around you.
As a mother it was a difficult reading because you identify with the situations, the descriptions and the moods affected me deeply. As a reader, I tried to keep a certain distance because I met several people who found themselves in these circumstances, some came out as winners, others not, I am convinced that this book can really make a difference, prepare to face this phase, do not be unprepared. it means to process faster. But above all, never lose hope!
I thank Samantha for letting me participate in this beautiful project.
If you want to know more, the author has answered a short interview.
Where do you live?
I graduated in Turin and immediately moved to London where I stayed for six years. Currently I have moved back to Turin, close to the family who can help us with the management of the children.
What do you do?
I am a pediatric nurse with six years of experience in Neonatal Intensive Care.
When was your passion for writing born?
I've always been interested in books, ever since I was a child. I then took another path and became a pediatric nurse, but I didn't want to give up my dream of being able to pass on what I have to others through writing.
Why did you decide to write this guide?
From professional and personal experience I know how scary it is to cross the threshold of a neonatal intensive care unit without knowing absolutely nothing of what is going to happen. These are very difficult times for the family and, although I am convinced that there is no way to eliminate the worry and pain, I know that there are small things that can make the experience a little less tragic. And one of these things is knowledge. I therefore wanted to write this little guide so that parents have a little smattering of what NICU is and become part of it with a little lighter heart.
Tell me in a few lines about your personal experience.
As I said I am a pediatric nurse and have worked for several years in a neonatal intensive care in London. There I learned so many things and I had the opportunity to assist babies and families in all kinds of situations. My second baby was born in 2017 and to our surprise he was diagnosed with a rare genetic syndrome. Although I was a nurse I never thought that such a thing could happen to me. I took care of the sick children of others, certainly not mine. It was very difficult to accept the situation and now that my elaboration process is finished I wanted to offer my testimony and my help to those in need.
What message do you feel you convey to those who will read this book?
Primarily a message of hope. I know that things happen and that it is extremely difficult to accept it. There is suffering and it is right that it be recognized and accepted so that it can be processed in the best possible way. But what I would like to say to the parents who find themselves in this situation is that they are not alone. And that it won't be so painful forever, it gets easier over time.
Review Bellanima by Luciana Cerreta.
Hello readers friends,
as the first review of the year I propose a self published book. Bellanima is a book whose author has taken the utmost care in editing, and the contents are to be placed in a very specific category: introspective novels or diaries.
But let's start from the beginning, as I always suggest the soundtrack and I admit that the first one that came to my mind is Italian pop music, Pausini with Biagio Antonacci who together duet The courage to go.
At the heart of this story is love. It is a sad, tormented story that hits you in the heart because it has happened to all of us to love, to suffer and to feel lost without him or her. A poignant story that involves you with the words of Luciana, who torments herself with her thoughts, but tries to put them on paper to exorcise the suffering she feels at that moment; thoughts and words for a man who has gone, sometimes the worst thing is not knowing why, many do not give explanations because they are too cowardly and we find ourselves questioning ourselves day after day for this reason.
The author speaks in the first person and reveals without malice the feelings of the one she loves and her despair.
In the first part of the book she relives the moments spent together and what she herself has discovered about love, the only thing she feels is the breathless absence of him, the life she leads without him, the isolation from world.
In the second part he deals with the acceptance of pain, of a life that must continue even if one feels empty and does not seem to have meaning without him.
I wondered while reading if one of the solutions to overcome the pain is to think that the one we love is dead, in some moments the protagonist seems moved by hatred, but I personally do not think it is possible to hate someone who has loved so much, and then my question returns: can the death of the one who is gone give relief?
I recommend reading this book to everyone, especially those who love to read about love, or who want to reflect on the painful effects of the end of a story, it is a reading that leaves its mark on you, as far as I am concerned in a positive way, because I am convinced that the most painful experiences give us the opportunity to change and grow.
Below is a short interview with the author, I wish her a great good luck for her book and happy reading to you!
Aurora Redville
What do you do?
I am a teacher of Italian and history in a high school.
When was your passion for writing born?
Well, actually I don't think there is a specific moment, I've been writing since I remember
Is this your first novel?
Yes, the first, but I've been writing for newspapers and magazines for years.
What is your kind of reading?
The classics certainly, I'm someone who loves, for example "Abelardo and Eloisa", or Goethe, Hesse, Dostoevskij, I grew up and formed with these readings, I suppose they also conditioned my way of being.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel?
This novel is entirely autobiographical. There are no fictional inventions or additions, maybe I avoided telling a couple of episodes, so I removed but I definitely didn't add. It was born from what was a kind of diary, a writing that was my therapy while the facts happened and I lived them. It helped me to rationalize and concretize my pain in order to try, in some way, to elude it by narrating and recounting it.
What is your secret dream?
I have done many things in my life, I don't think I have a dream in the drawer currently, maybe I have hope and this thing, frankly, makes me nervous because sometimes hope is a double-edged sword.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
Personally I always write, as I said for me it is a cure that I follow as a child, things written and told become less heavy to bear.
I just finished Arundhati Roy's God of Little Things
Tell me something that changed your life.
Without a doubt the story I told in the book. An experience that has completely upset my life like nothing before and that even now that it is over continues to change my relationship with the things that surround me, it has conditioned and still conditions my daily life.
"Attimi" the first collection of poems by Luca Seta.
Welcome back friends readers,
today I'm talking about a person with whom I had the pleasure of speaking. In life I often compare and share thoughts with those who are close to me, but when it also happens at work it is a very rewarding thing. Sometimes it happens by chance that you meet people you never imagined and who share the same passions as you ...
As always I suggest the soundtrack to keep in the background for reading, today the choice falls on Luca Seta's “Cuccioli di Gnu”.
Luca Seta is an actor and songwriter born in Borgosesia, my adopted city, he is a person of great sensitivity and sweetness who knows how to communicate with his interlocutor by fascinating him with his words, words that are poems, a production with which he begins in the world of literature: a collection of poems, which in my opinion are more songs and ballads, the ones you would like to hear at concerts, extraordinary fragments of real life that lay bare the author's thoughts.
"Moments" collected in self publishing that made Luca known under a new aspect, "choice of gut" self-publishing, because what interests him is communicating with people, as he himself admitted "at this moment there are so many projects that I want to close the circle ".
If you don't have the courage to plunge into your darkness
You can never embrace the light
The book opens with this sentence which already suggests what the issues addressed may be, an analysis of society, the anxieties, love, suffering, war, the feelings that keep us connected. The pursuit of happiness, questioning oneself because only those who are afraid do not want to be happy, it is more comfortable to remain still.
Speaking with Luca, his great passion for Sardinia came out, where he is a kitesurfing instructor "I feel at home there", I understand well his great passion, the love for water and the sea are a primordial element which denotes a great purity of soul.
If you are curious, read the beautiful interview that Luca gave, Saturday 8 February he will be in Borgosesia at the Nuova Idea Bookshop at 6.30 pm to tell about himself and sing some songs with his guitar.
I wish you happy reading.
Aurora Redville
What do you do?
I am an actor, a songwriter and recently also a writer as well as a kite surf instructor.
At what age did you realize you wanted to be an actor?
I had a half idea at the age of 18, unfortunately my father did not agree and so before dedicating myself to acting I took a few years of university with a terrible performance in the course of dental studies, I started doing it seriously at 24 years old.
Is this your first collection of poems?
Yes, it is my first collection of poems.
What is your kind of reading?
I am an omnivorous reader, I read a bit of everything from comics to Wilbur Smith, but if we have to talk about writing my favorite is Jack Kerouac because beyond the stories I really like his creative flow, you feel that his stories were coming out in a rush, he vomited them up. You first paid me a compliment because you told me that my poems look like songs, well, I think real writers write music, he loved jazz and wanted his writing to be jazz. His words are truly jazz, when I read him I feel like I am lost in his solo, I feel part of his music, of his words. I've really read everything, I think the real writers are really the musicians of the word.
What message do you want to convey to the reader?
I don't feel like the bearer of the truth, I just carry my truth or at least I try, because being honest with yourself is a lot of stuff in life, the thing that helped me more than any other was reading other free thinkers, because what I want is to stay that way which is the hardest thing. Reading the greats of literature I elaborated my thoughts, so I would be happy if I could awaken even one mind with my writings, I would be really happy.
What would you do when you grow up?
In my opinion either you always are or you never become. To answer your question I would say what I am doing, I am happy and I would like to continue doing it, I was also happy when I was a Kite surf instructor on the beach. But I feel more I when I do my artistic job; the thing I'm trying to do now is to be happy and then all the rest ... "sti cocks" as they say in Rome! Being happy is a responsibility. Read the poem “SSSSHHHHOOOOOWWWWWW” and you will understand my thinking.
Are you writing something? Projects for the future?
I just finished writing a four-handed novel, with a dear friend of mine director Marco Limberti, he made Love Bugs, and recently the film about Legnanesi that came out on Rete4 at Christmas, we met on the set of “7 vite ”And I consider him my big brother. Anyway, speaking of the book, I do not worry in some way it will be published, I have also finished recording the third album but I don't know when it will come out, and a Sit Com that I shot 4 years ago with my colleagues from “Un posto in the sun ". Directed by Marco Limberti, the actors are Cristina D'alberto, Michelangelo Tommaso, Samanta Piccinetti and Massimiliano Galligari, and also Diego Casale and Fabio Rossini.
What are your passions?
The sea to madness, certainly kite surfing and surfing because I love the sea element, water and specifically I love Sardinia, it has an incredible energy it is a land where I feel good and reborn, it has something healing, then free climbing, but if I have to say one it is the sea.
Tell me something that changed your life.
Surely in the last two years the injury to the finger happened with kite surfing and a whole series of bad luck that led to this accident. The first surgery lasted ten hours, a year of physiotherapy then another surgery and another nine months of physiotherapy, but beyond that the thing that destroyed me is that I have not slept for 5 months and because I am a very empathetic person , living in the hospital was an experience that changed me profoundly, even if my family raised me with certain values, my father is a doctor so it is not that suffering is foreign to us, but when you live it day after day it is different, to see the children arriving where I was ... one day a wonderful 6 year old curly girl arrived who was missing her arm from the shoulder down, here surely this changed me and therefore my responsibility to be happy also increased to the nth degree and even with more awareness, now I am calmer and more determined, without wasting time I care for the people I want my family and friends who are really close and love me. This has changed me a lot, and I have to say that in a way I am also grateful for this experience because I have evolved.
Do you have a dark side too?
Yes, like everyone. But I think you have to have the courage to be a better person, every now and then you abandon yourself to the darkness, but I prefer the light. It is a great boost to have more energy and to keep this darkness away.
You are music , by Simona Bianchera
Panesi editions 2019, 230 pages.
Genre: Romance.
Plot
Music gives emotions, freedom, joy, emotion. But have you ever thought that it could also change your life? This is what is going to happen to Alaska and Daniel: thanks to the music they will know each other ... and nothing will ever be the same again. A daring story of love, friendship, adventure, steeped in art, painting, photography, poetry and lots of music awaits you. Many sensory ideas to experience the emotions of the protagonists. Buckle up and set off to discover their colorful life.
My thoughts.
Good morning friends readers, today I'm talking about Simona Bianchera's debut novel You are music, first open your playlist and choose from your favorite rock songs, the author has in fact inserted an important soundtrack, you travel from the genre international rock to the Italian music of Vasco Rossi and other musicians I did not know. It is also the first time that I happen to read a book of this kind with so many quotes, poems and images, photos, paintings that are the result of the artist's work to better involve the reader through the sense of sight, it is a book that smells of optimism, art, music and good feelings. The topic covered is yes the love that blossoms on social networks between Daniel - the drummer of the group "Pensieri Divergenti" - and Alaska, but also the story of a friendship, is introduced through the two protagonists Alaska and Vanessa, the beauty of this feeling is knowing that you can always count on the other, and this is precisely what happens to girls who will have to face unexpected, almost paradoxical difficulties, even if I am convinced that anything can happen because reality often exceeds fantasy, it is no coincidence that they are faced important issues such as drug use that can change your life forever, but the author also manages to address this issue with her usual optimism because if we want we can really fix things. She managed to amaze me at the very unexpected ending. I recommend reading to lovers of the genre.
Below is a short interview with the author Simona Bianchera, I wish her a big good luck and good reading to you.
When was your passion for writing born?
I have always loved writing, since I was a child, poems, fairy tales and short stories. When I sang my songs the name of the group was "Divergent Thoughts", like that of the novel. Since I also love to paint and photograph, I created paintings and photos by combining my writings, in order to make the emotions I felt through multiple senses perceive because I love art in all its forms. It happens in some periods that we feel more connected, receptive with some people: friends, friends, brothers, sisters, colleagues, in my opinion it is because you get in tune with the energy of the other person, they vibrate on the same level and it is exciting. I happen to experience these sensations also through art: when I read a book, looking at a painting, listening to a song, I come into contact with the artist. Because inside each creation comes its energy, a piece of its soul
.
Is this your first novel?
I wrote Tu sei Musica between 2012 and 2013. It started as a story, a romantic idea of the encounter between a girl and a boy that started on the internet, but as I wrote the ideas flowed continuously enriching it with characters. It created itself, like magic. I wrote when I could: in the evening, when the housework was finished. It was like living in a parallel reality, I felt the emotions of the protagonists. As Vasco Rossi says in the song A song for you "My songs are born by themselves, they come out already with the words ..." so I experienced the creation of Tu sei Musica. Then, once finished, my insecurity made me put it aside. After five years of second thoughts, one morning I woke up full of courage and sent it to Panesi Edizioni. With shaking hands I sent my proposal. When I received the answer from Annalisa, which I renamed "Realizer of dreams", I cried with emotion.
What is your kind of reading?
I love to read so it varies a lot: pink, thriller, dark, fantasy, mystery, adventure. Everything moves me and I love many writers. I love looking for emerging ones because you feel their desire to give something to the world. I am not inspired by anyone in particular, every book I have read has left its mark on me. I hope to leave an emotion to the readers too.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel?
Alaska, the protagonist, I love her very much, I feel her like a daughter. It is my creation, a part of me lives in it. Those who know me personally identify me in her, also because it is easier to write than you know, so it is true that I took some ideas from myself, but in truth I have seen and described her inventing it, as if she were a person that I love and that is very close to me, I have described myself and experienced Simona firsthand, her mother a bit crazy, photographer and rock, together with Fabrizio, my husband, father from Alaska. Some characters and their story are completely fictional, for example Carlo, Daniel, Xavier, and others. To some I have only given the name and some physical description of the people I love and who are part of my life, like the friends of the protagonist, but continuing to be just fictional characters who lived their stories without drawing on real life. It was just my way of saying "I love you and you will be part of this great dream of mine", it was a hymn to their presence in my life, but they are characters with completely invented vicissitudes, especially for the story of the novel.
Are you writing something?
I just finished my second novel. A completely different genre from the first, or Adventure and Mystery. I had a lot of fun writing it, it seemed to me to be a female Indiana Jones and in the various research I did I hung up several notions that opened my mind. It was therefore also a personal growth.
The guest , by Massimiliano Alberti
Welcome reader friends, today I'm talking about a book that I finished reading a few days ago, I'm talking about The Invited by Massimiliano Alberti, Infinito editions January 18, 2018.
As always I suggest the soundtrack to read the review, I thought of something sophisticated that is well suited to art in general: Diana Krall - The Look Of Love
Plot
Three friends, the same as always. Leo, Kevin and Tom. After years of raids in sleepy Trieste, their city, they separate and then find themselves in Vienna. Here it is Tom who summons Leo - the true protagonist of the book - and Kevin, to involve them in the project of a gallery dedicated to Pop Art. But, in a succession of twists and turns, between alcohol, excesses and grame figures, always on the edge of self-irony, they must gradually come to terms with their character differences and with a jarring diversity of expectations. A disillusioned fresco of our society in a Vienna that is the classic setting for a style ... completely Pop.
The background to the story is the city of Vienna where the three protagonists find themselves living together in Tom's luxurious house, where they organize parties and meetings with the important people of Viennese society to involve as many people as possible in their project.
Leo is the protagonist of this story, and is targeted by some of these acquaintances who do not miss poisonous comments towards the Italians, but he will certainly not put his feet on his head even if this will bring many disagreements.
I felt sympathy for Leo even though he is a little too over the top at times, there is a stark contrast between his arrogant and sensitive side, and I like that because I admire controversial characters.
I appreciated the many references to Pop Art, we understand how the author is a great lover of art and this is an added value to the story. The narration is smooth, the language is refined but casual, and the descriptions very detailed. I also liked the reflections that the author makes on love.
As for the plot, in my opinion it is a bit weak, it does not capture the reader from the first pages but only later, so you have to be patient, moreover the presence of too long periods makes the reader's attention to the story fall.
The book is very well written and if you are a lover of the genre it is reading for you.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
Massimiliano Alberti was born in Trieste in 1979, in that corner of cosmopolitan land that has been the arena for many internationally renowned artists and writers, such as James Joyce, Italo Svevo and Umberto Saba.
Not yet finished his university studies, he is hired in one of the most important companies in the world of coffee. The work, however, leads him to spend a lot of time away from home, where in moments of solitude he cultivates a passion for books and writing; the love for his company, renowned for its continuous pursuit of excellence, has a significant influence on its future modus operandi. If the best espresso comes from a careful selection made grain by grain, so he studies the same word for word.
Grandson of the sculptor Tristano Alberti, he grew up among the sketches, paintings and statues of his grandfather. The artistic influence, therefore, encourages him to take the pen between his fingers to transform his thoughts into a writing. And on May 24, 2017, Infinito Edizioni accepts his proposal for publication.
THE INVITED is his debut novel, to whose writing he dedicated years of his life.
A simple way , by Daniela Piras
Welcome reader friends ,
today I am talking about “A simple way”, published by Talos edizioni, a novel that is particularly close to my heart because it was written by Daniela Piras, an author from Sassari, my hometown.
This is the first time I've read a book dealing with this topic in a long time, and I was pleasantly surprised.
As always I recommend the soundtrack to read the review, today the choice falls on "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish.
I wish you happy reading
Aurora Redville
Synopsis:
Two students meet in a small university town. Between them begins a story like many that, at a certain point, shatters. One of the two begins a persecution against the other, all this in a time when there is still no talk of "stalking". Through the writing of a diary, the two find a way to tell each other and, at the same time, try to get out of stalemate, pain, loneliness, helplessness.
To those who have only heard life tell.
To those who see beyond the dark and manage to change direction.
When I read the preface of the book written by Cinzia Mammoliti, criminologist and one of the leading national experts on the subject, I was really curious, I wanted to discover this story because at least once in our life we have been wronged, to live a tormented story or leave behind a difficult love.
It is a two-part novel, those of the two protagonists who take us into their world through personal reflections in the form of a diary.
I find it a good choice because you are able to identify with and experience the moods that follow conflicts.
A love that began like many others but that takes on dramatic implications, a story that anyone could experience, especially in our age, in which stalking has finally been recognized.
It is a reading that opens the eyes and explains the (sick) dynamics that are inserted in a couple, but it also speaks of the power of forgiveness to start a new life, in spite of everything.
The two characters are very well characterized, and the story holds up from start to finish, the prose is smooth and reads in one go. I was also pleasantly surprised at the end.
I recommend reading to all those interested in this issue, or to deepen the psychological aspects that characterize these events and, obviously, to lovers of very tormented love stories.
Below is a brief interview with the author.
What do you do?
Good question! I would like to answer that "writing" is my job, since it is, at the moment, what I do with the most interest. I joined the order of journalists (publicists) last year, and I would like to build several collaborations with more newspapers, so that I can do it full time.
When was your passion for writing born?
She was born as a child, in elementary school. When my Italian teacher made us do our "homework" we had to choose whether to compose a free text, where we would tell what happened to us, or whether to invent a story. I was very fond of writing "invented stories".
Is this your first novel?
No. "A Simple Way" is my fifth book, and my third novel. It comes after two self-publications, Words on the trees (collection of short stories and poems) and Village (novel); after the publication of a collection of Crash short stories (Marco Del Bucchia Editore) and the novel Leo (Talos Edizioni).
What is your kind of reading?
I don't think I have a well-defined gender. I like essays, novels, short stories and poems, sociology and psychology texts. As a young girl I read several classics, especially French literature, perhaps because I already loved France. Generally, I believe that reading should leave something in the reader's head, something that provokes the birth of questions, of considerations ... so I prefer stories that are not too imaginative, which are based on realities, near and far, and which offer points of view and food for thought.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her?
There are thoughts, considerations, existential doubts that have passed through my mind, but it cannot properly be considered an autobiographical novel. The protagonists were inspired by real people, by encounters years ago with students they met at the university and also by people who, in spite of themselves, were the protagonists of news episodes. Around them, however, I painted a lot with the imagination .
What message did you want to convey with this story?
The message is pretty clear, I think, but I can't say it clearly, otherwise I'd simplify everything! I can say that I wanted to tell a story from a double perspective: the female and the male.
Are you writing something?
In this period, especially in the weeks of home confinement, I wrote several short stories and a poem, "Passaggi", inspired by a composition for piano solo by my partner (Daniele Ricciu - Danyart) entitled "From the inside", in which they express themselves the feelings gained during the lockdown. One of the stories has already been published in an anthology: “Il Cavaliere”, published in “Lantivirus” for the Erranti Editions of Cosenza. Others will be released shortly, always as part of anthologies, for “Lúdo Edizioni” and for “Lines Infinite Edizioni”.
The impatience of Penelope, by Giovanna di Verniere
Hello readers friends, today I'm talking about a Romance Penelope's Impatience, the title is already very evocative.
Published bookabook 2018, 233 pages.
The song I chose for you as you read the review is John Legend's All of me.
I thought of taking the photo for this article in Sassari where I was in August at Il Fiorino, a traditional goldsmith's jewelry. The protagonist of this novel is in fact a young stylist and therefore an artist, it seemed nice to me to show you a part of the art of my land, then we women love jewels ...
Trama.
Intolerant of love: this is how Virginia, thirty years old, a career stylist with an important project in New York on the horizon, has always defined herself. Since she left her country of origin and her first love to move to Milan she hasn't fallen in love anymore, she hasn't been able to let herself go, to rely completely on someone else ... Until one evening at the theater she sees Riccardo Russo again, successful actor met years earlier in Paris and never forgotten.
Although he is happily married, the two begin to see each other, and soon the attraction turns into something deeper ...
Virginia is a stylist, the job and dream of a lifetime, but even if she is a career woman in some respects she is a simple girl: she believes herself incapable of loving. In reality she is just waiting for the right man, the one who makes her heart beat.
"I would like to be capable of it. I would like to have the courage to open up totally, to have the strength not to run away every damn time. But apparently it's love that doesn't want me. It's like an intolerance. There is the lactose one or the other. peanuts or shellfish. There are people who cannot eat yeast, others must avoid eggs or foods rich in iron. It's not that you don't want it, it's not that you don't like it. You just can't! I digest in love. My diagnosis is this: I have a serious intolerance. Wheat and love. "
This is just one of the many reflections that are inside the book, in fact, as often happens when you start a new book, you experience it as a journey, in this case together with the protagonist Virginia because it is an introspective reading. We learn to know his innermost thoughts, it is not a banal narrative, but it is a different style of telling. Few dialogues but many descriptions that take you into history, in fact I recommend it especially to a female audience who love the genre, because we all always want to get excited.
I really liked the change of location in the story, it is a way to amaze and not tire the reader, an overwhelming, impossible love story with a married man and related problems.
But the love she feels for him is always the medicine, until our Virginia understands that her relationship with Riccardo is sick and the only thing to do is save herself.
A story that might seem to you the fruit of the author's imagination, but no! As in the best families (they say so) I knew that it is inspired by a true story !!
Will our heroine be able to break away from this reality and give her life a sponge? I only tell you that in between there is a journey and an unexpected encounter even if… anything can happen.
If you are curious, below is the short interview with Giovanna.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
Where do you live? Manchester, Uk.
When was your passion for writing born?
I do not remember. I have always enjoyed writing and have done so ever since I learned to write the alphabet.
Why did you choose this genre?
Because I really like writing about love, it's the only feeling that inspires me to write. I would not be able to write a thriller, or another genre precisely because I do not consider myself a writer but only a person who writes about love.
What is your kind of reading?
I don't have a favorite genre. I love to find out through friends' recommendations and experiment. Romance, detective stories, biographies, essays. I read a bit of everything.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel?
Yes, it's inspired by a true story. I changed the characters a bit but they all really happened and people really existed. The protagonist, on the other hand, is very different from me. We have in common having moved from a small town to a city, and creative work.
Is there a sequel to the novel? Because it is self-contained but leaves a door open to the future of the protagonists ...
The story I'm writing is the sequel to my novel. Initially I wanted to think of a new story but then many readers asked me what would happen next. So I started thinking about it too, I'd like to know how Virginia, Andrea and Riccardo are.
Goodbye Jude .
Love doesn't go on vacation or maybe it does?
Good morning friends readers, are you spending your holidays well? Today I present to you a debut author the dear Raffaella Macchi and her novel is Goodbye Jude.
Bookabook publisher, 182 pages.
Before reading put on one of my favorite songs, I listened to Iris from Goo Goo Dolls .
The plot is inspired by the famous film "Love does not go on vacation" with the beautiful Jude Low, but it only takes a cue in fact Eleonora the protagonist of the story is a career lawyer who lives in Milan, she spends her life not convinced that she has made the right (working) choice, because in the law firm where she was hired the days are hectic and take away all energy, also for this reason she has an almost non-existent love life and, in the evening, she prefers to take refuge in an imaginary world populated by her actor favorite. As the protagonist of the film, one day when she is particularly inspired she makes the decision to exchange her apartment in the center of Milan for a cottage in Surrey not too far from London, whose owner is a man named Charles.
She finds herself immersed in the English countryside together with Mr. Darcy, his lovable dog, but she also grows curiosity to know the landlord and, with the excuse of knowing if everything is okay, they start an exchange of letters. For the first time in a long time it seems to her that she is in the “right place” and the days are marked by quiet. But Eleonora will have to return to her life in Milan, but something inside her has changed, and in agreement with Charles they decide to meet to get to know each other before he returns to England.
Will our protagonist be able to change her life and choose to live as she wishes?
My thoughts.
This book is a Romance in the most traditional sense of the word, the author writes well and the style is fluid and fluent. I like that it is written in the form of a diary, you feel part of the story lived by Eleonora. The fears, doubts and desires of a woman who feels alone and disillusioned, has a dream, would like to change her life but does not have the courage, emerge. This is what often happens to those who carry out an activity or a job in the city where they are born and grow up, but are so tired that the idea of doing something different is far away, they can't make it happen.
Fortunately Eleonora finds the impetus to do something that will completely change her way of living things, and she will also understand that work is not her life.
This story is an encouragement for all those who are in a phase in which they try to imagine their future life, a delicate story tinged with pink because as I always say… EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
I would have dedicated a few more pages to the relationship between the two protagonists because I love more and more pathos and direct dialogues or speeches in this literary genre.
I wish a big good luck to Raffaella and look forward to her next novels!
If you are curious, here is a short interview with the author.
Happy reading Aurora Redville
Interview with Raffaella Macchi.
What do you do?
I have always practiced the profession of civil lawyer.
How was your passion for writing born?
The passion for writing has accompanied me since adolescence, but I was able to dedicate myself to it during a long convalescence: this is how my first novel Goodbye Jude was born.
What is your kind of reading? Is the story autobiographical?
I am an omnivorous reader, but I love English writers very much, from the most classic to contemporary (I think this is one of the reasons why part of the story is set in England). Right now I'm reading Alice Munro's short stories.
I am passionate about gardening and I collect English Roses and this is definitely the autobiographical part of the book. The characters are instead the fruit of my imagination.
What is your secret dream?
My secret dream was precisely to devote myself to writing full time, so the publication of Goodbye Jude is an important first milestone for me.
Is there a sequel to the novel? Because it is self-contained but leaves a door open to the future of the protagonists .
I'm writing a new novel, but it's not the sequel to Goodbye Jude.
I'm looking for you . A race against time.
Hello readers friends, today is the ideal day to publish a review of a yellow, in fact the weather is gloomy and from the window I can see the fog.
I have chosen for you a novel that I read in August while lying comfortably under the umbrella I shared the reading with my husband and some neighbors who listened and after having melted commented on the situations.
Seeking you by Mauro Mogliani, Leone Editore 2018.
Put Linkin Park's In The End right now and read.
Plot.
Inspector Nardi who lives in Macerata receives a mysterious letter, signed by a certain Nobody who starts a perverse game: four women will be kidnapped in succession and released after seven days; they will be better than before, assures Nobody. The released women are in a confused state and no longer even remember who they are. It will be up to Nardi with the help of Inspector Gambuti, to find out what binds all the victims, to anticipate the kidnapper's moves, and prevent him from making the final announcement.
My thoughts.
When I started reading this thriller I realized that the narrative mechanism rested on the deadline, the passing of time, the approaching dramatic outcome. A dynamic that certainly brings us back to the fight against time.
I really like the setting in an Italian city like Macerata, the provincial reality with its peculiarity and lets us guess that the characters are inspired by real people, Mogliani was very good at characterizing them, he made them common people, like example Mario the bartender.
Commissioner Nardi and Inspector Gambuti work very well together, so much so that from the beginning I was involved in their affairs, I hypothesized the results of the investigations and analyzed the elements in their possession. At least once I doubted that the culprit was one of the protagonists, and each time he managed to confuse my ideas.
The book holds from beginning to end, there are no drops in rhythm, it is a race against time that passes inexorably, but also an analysis of the human psyche, Nobody is in fact a perverse manipulator, a threat to the city and above all to women.
The commissioner is put to the test, will he be able to catch him before the deadline?
I highly recommend this book to lovers of the genre but also to those who want to get closer to the thrillers, there are in fact no particularly bloody scenes.
The finale will leave you in suspense!
Happy reading Aurora Redville
Brief interview with Mauro Mogliani.
What do you do?
"I am a craftsman, I create and produce cardboard boxes for various items: shoes, perfumes, cosmetics, clothing, bottles of wine, oil, grappa and much more."
When was your passion for writing born?
«Exactly six years ago, when I finished reading I kill by Faletti. I don't even know why, but that's exactly what happened. I felt the need and the desire to write. A week later I had an affair and I started Nobody Knows Who I Am. Do you know what I thought? Will the soul of some old writer arrive at forty-three? "
Is this your first novel?
«I'm looking for you no, it's the third one, even if I consider it my real debut. In 2014, Nobody knows who I am was released and, in 2016 Racconti per insognia both published with Italic Pequod. The first is a thriller, where we find some characters, such as Inspector Nardi and the bartender Mario, who are in Cerco te, the other is a collection of short stories. "
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her?
“Almost the whole story is taken from everything that surrounds me, pieces of a puzzle put back together with a lot of imagination and of course the same goes for the characters. The setting and characters of the characters, in my view, very much reflect the province of Macerata. Mario, the bartender, is the result of two people put together: myself and a dear friend of mine. Inspector Nardi is my co-star, because I am the other ... Nobody, the protagonist! The secrets that come out in the book are secrets that I have heard in reality, therefore, I consider all the real characters with a configured soul. "
Are you writing something?
“In the first days of August I finished the retouching of the new novel and presented it to the publishing house. It will be the sequel to I am looking for you and will come out, I think, in February of the new year.
Tell me something that changed your life
«In reality, to make you change your life, something striking should happen to you, for better or for worse, which has not happened to me yet. However, there are events that give directions in the course of life, as natural as it may be: adolescence, work, marriage, the birth of a child, the death of grandparents or parents, a divorce, etc.
To tell you the truth, lately an episode has confused me more than the others and it has come very close to changing my life… life no, the house does, however: the earthquake. Yes, the earthquake struck me in the mind, it left its mark, it left me for a long time a real fear never felt before. A fear that I still can't get rid of, that is inside and outside of me.
So much so that this event was the beginning of my new thriller… the sequel to Cerco te will focus on fear and will talk about the earthquake. How do you talk about an earthquake in a thriller? You will find out soon .
Bosco Bianco , by Diego Galdino
Hello readers friends, today I'm talking about the latest book by the Roman writer / bartender… Diego Galdino!
Bosco Bianco 157 pages, it is also the first novel I read by this famous author also abroad, the genre is sentimental fiction or Romance, self publishing May 2019.
I thank the author for letting me read his book.
My thoughts:
when I started reading the first pages I had the impression that the story was not exactly original, a love of other times, the setting in a particularly suggestive place with a romantic hint that everything suggests to the reader, it reminded me of one of the famous films inspired by the novels of Agatha Christie, so this is positive. It actually turned out to be a different genre.
At the center of the novel is the beautiful “Bosco Bianco” estate on the Amalfi coast which was a place admired even in the past, where some famous people stayed there as guests of the owner, beautiful descriptions and details of the interiors and exteriors. I felt catapulted into the 30s and so I put some Glenn Miller pieces on the playlist just to travel with the imagination.
The protagonists of the story are: Giorgio and Maia. She is the daughter of the closest friend of Mrs. Chiara Pizzi, owner of the estate, he is a real estate agent. In fact, Maia and Mrs Pizzi's nephew, Samuele Milleri, inherit the property, but due to financial problems he immediately sells his part of the house in great secret to a large real estate agency.
Giorgio is sent to the estate by the villain on duty, who in this case is Mr. Andrea Razzi, owner of the agency, who wants to have the estate at all costs, and forces Giorgio to deceive Maia by playing Mr. Milleri. Everything is lawful when you learn about a legend. In fact, it is said that the secret diary of the legendary American writer Albert Grant is hidden in Bosco Bianco.
This is why the man decides to deceive Maia, he wants to have the famous diary that is worth a fortune, and so far everything is clear, but I don't want to reveal too many details ...
Galdino was able to make me enter the story, it is a delicate story, the author has his own language, a fluid style, he perfectly manages to describe places and characters that are part of it, even if for romance I always prefer a little more pathos . I read the book quickly enough, it is very fluent, I appreciated the character of Giorgio a man who knows what is right and wrong, and even if the lies often create disasters the author was able to amaze me.
Even the mystery surrounding the diary of the famous American writer Albert Grant is really central to the story, the reader does not know what to expect until the end.
And it is precisely the last pages that have struck me the most, because love is described in all its forms, it is always the center, but some loves do not have the possibility of being lived or maybe they do?
Find out for yourself and read this beautiful story, moreover Diego Galdino with this self-publication wanted to launch an important message of solidarity with the authors who decide not to give up and take this path.
If you are curious here are some answers released by the author.
Diego Galdino (born in 1971) lives in Rome and gets up every morning while the city is still asleep, to open his bar where every day he greets customers with the most imaginative coffees in the city.
With Sperling & Kupfer he published his debut novel The first morning coffee (for which the film rights have also been sold) You come to me as if from a dream, I wish love had your eyes, I see you for the first time and The last coffee of the evening. Internationally successful author is translated into German-speaking countries, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia and Spanish-speaking countries. Bosco Bianco is the highly anticipated novel that is self-published for a choice of heart. A beautiful act of love and gratitude to the many readers who have always respected him.
- Why does a writer like Diego Galdino decide to self-publish?
In writing, as well as in life, one must be courageous. I want to be a voice for young writing talents, especially for those who decide to rely on self publishing. Receiving a NO doesn't mean you have to stop or break down. There are endless ways to go. We must never allow anyone to decide for our dreams, because as long as you write someone will be able to read you, but if you stop writing it is sure that nobody will read you.
- At what moment of your life did you start writing Bosco Bianco?
I decided to write Bosco Bianco at a time when I was afraid, after the divorce, of losing my daughters. To tell a love without prejudice, without standing there thinking about whether it is right or wrong to love, but letting oneself be guided only by one's heart.
I wish you happy reading
Aurora Redville
Look left . Turn your gaze to change!
There are books that "choose" you even before they are published, with Look left it was like this, I came across her author on Instagram almost by chance, because chance does not exist, Katiuscia Napolitano has in fact published her new novel with bookabook crowdpublishing publisher and I must say that the thing that struck me most was the cover, it is really impressive, the title is evocative and moreover it is set in London, what more do you want?
Yes, yes, I'm a little biased, but that's how we fall in love with books. Katiuscia writes really well, just think that she lived in London for a few months, attended a creative writing course and then returned to Italy full of this experience that changed her life.
Some reflections on the plot.
I found some similarities between the author and the protagonist of the novel, and this is always interesting!
Livia works in a small bookshop with her English friend Alexis, but her true passion, together with books, are travel, she is a blogger, in fact she has a blog of her own The traveling girl that allows her to travel while staying anchored to everyday life, she is a nice and nice woman. Pedro is handsome, kind-hearted and a true gentleman, he perfectly embodies the man of our dreams.
I liked the structure of the novel, moreover the narrator tells the story from the point of view of Livia but also of Pedro, so we have a double vision, it is a very effective way of relating to the reader. The story is fluid and flowing.
It is a Romance with an incisive plot , the fulcrum of the story is love, and the two characters experience it in a different way. Livia has not yet managed to find the man who will make her lose her mind and at 38 she is almost convinced that she will never find him, she lives her life in London in search of that something she is missing. Pedro, on the other hand, is a photographer and has an (almost) ex-wife who doesn't deserve it. I was struck by the descriptions of the places, you feel inserted in the context, and I have a weakness for real places. Pedro catches sight of Livia while with his Olga (his camera) he tries to take some shots at the Victoria and Albert museum: “While exploiting the perspective that had been created between a group of tourists and a statue, he noticed a girl. She too sat on a bench. He wrote quickly in a diary, hardly taking his eyes off the page. Every so often he looked at the statue in front of him, then returned to the sheet. He certainly didn't draw because his hand was moving in a single linear direction ... "
Pedro had finally found his muse, but he didn't know anything about her, will they meet again by chance?
He has a challenge with a colleague, she has a competition to win, but I don't want to give you too much away. For me, the plot is really successful.
Reading took me so much that I finished the book in a few hours, yes, you got it right. Then the last chapter I waited two days before reading it, I had what is called "detachment anxiety", I was so passionate about the characters that I was afraid of leaving them, this is what happens when the author characterizes them well, who you get attached to reading them and feel them "real".
Talking about love without falling into banality is always a challenge, Katiuscia has succeeded by making us feel part of a story that is born, grows and evolves, but above all of the feelings that people experience when they fall in love. Look left, however, is also (above all) the story of a change of direction because our choices determine our future !!
That morning she felt incredibly lonely. It never happened to her. She was fine in her chaos, and by now she was so used to not having to look after anyone but herself that the very thought of putting
her daily life terrified her.
And now, if you are curious, the short interview with Katiuscia Napolitano.
When was your passion for writing born?
I believe she was born with me. I remember that my first story, a little horror, I wrote it in third grade. Writing has always been a passion of mine even if for some time, when I was about twenty, I put it aside. In 2014, however, she came back to ask for a place in my life, and I promise not to neglect her anymore.
Is this your first novel?
No, my first novel is called Immortal. It is a young adult, witch and vampire theme. I started writing it at seventeen but completed it only at twenty-four. I am very fond of it, it is my adolescence!
Why did you choose Romance?
To tell the truth it is the Romance that has chosen me, it is a trend that is distant from me, and in fact many have been surprised by this change of genre, but it was a love story to ask to be written, and therefore the genre it could only be dyed pink.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her? Or is it all a figment of your imagination? Tell me about London, why did you choose this city?
Obviously there are many autobiographical traits, especially in the construction of the characters. Everything we write about has its own spark, it would be stupid to say otherwise. London is the city of my heart, I am convinced that I was a Londoner in another life! I fell madly in love at first sight in 2009 and have been back there ever since. And from every trip I brought a story. So it was a bit of an obvious choice to take refuge there for my two months of free exit from my daily life.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
I am working on a collection of female short stories that I would like to publish in 2020 and I am previewing the thriller novel of a dear friend (Metempsicosi by Stefano Caruso), which will be released later this month. I must say that I am enjoying it so much!
Is there a sequel to the novel? Because it is self-contained but leaves a door open to the future of the protagonists ...
Very true, I also believe that there is an open window, from which sooner or later I will like to browse. I miss Livia and Pedro already, so who knows!
The anarchy of points of view
Hello readers friends,
today I am talking about a book published a few months ago: The anarchy of points of view by Massimo Algarotti, published by Bookabook, 145 pages.
I bought this novel during the crowdfunding campaign because I know the difficulty of getting to the publication of a book, when I received it I immediately appreciated the cover, it is very particular, I see it as the meeting of two cultures, different ages and different points of view. I read the book calmly because the topics covered have triggered emotions and reflections.
It is a sad story, because it speaks of old age and death, I am particularly sensitive to this topic, but it also writes of hope, the one that gives you the arrival of a new life, of mistakes that are made in the course of our existence and that change our lives forever, but also of second chances. I think it is a book that each of us can interpret through our own personal experiences, I understood the urgency of the author's message or rather maybe I received it in this way. The need not to judge, to respect the opinions of those in front of us, to understand that there are very different points of view from ours but this is not necessarily negative, but it can be an added value. The meeting of different cultures is a very topical issue and, Massimo who has traveled a lot thanks to his work has seen painful but also wonderful realities, I loved the character of Yumara who was able to understand his partner and perhaps knows him better than he is. you know him.
I would have appreciated a few more pages because of the kind of issues addressed. I just have to wish a big good luck to Massimo Algarotti while waiting for the next book.
Below is a brief interview with the author.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
What do you do?
I'm in the non-profit world. I have been working with Emergency since 2007 and I am the manager of the office that manages the staff of our hospitals. Over the years I have been lucky enough to visit countries and realities that are completely different from those in which we live, such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Iraq. It is perhaps the best part of my job.
Is this your first novel?
Yes. In the past years I have written a lot, in particular poems and small texts, then I felt ready to face a novel. It is a commitment to write a book, managing to take time out of work and family commitments.
What is your kind of reading?
I love the biographies of historical characters. Robert Conquest with his biography on Stalin left me a
mouth open. Then I love Camilleri. Baricco, but perhaps my favorite book is "What do you expect from me" by Lorenzo Licalzi, a delicate, simple and ironic book as well as extremely profound.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her?
Most of my characters refer to something autobiographical. Arctic in layman's terms is me. It has my character, my past, my difficulties and the same approach to life. He is a one-piece man, very "all white or all black" with little desire to be "easygoing" with society. Jacopo represents Massimo as a young man, the most deluded one, who lives more in the world of dreams and honestly doesn't drive me crazy.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
I'm finishing writing my second novel, based on a true story, sometimes fictionalized. He talks about the world of perinatal bereavement, a subject that is rarely talked about but which deserves more space and more attention, more respect. It is written in the feminine and being able to put myself in the shoes of a young woman is the biggest challenge I could face. And I wanted to try it because I am convinced it is worth it. At the moment I am focused on writing and in principle if I write I do not read, however as soon as I finish my book the biography of Pablo Escobar awaits me.
Tell something that changed your life.
I think there are some defining moments in a person's life. While writing my first book, I experienced two life-changing events at the same time: the birth of my son and, just three months later, the death of my father. All this created a delusion of emotions, sensations and tremendously changed my way of writing and my need to tell.
June and the colors of the rainbow
Hello readers friends,
as anticipated on the Instagram post this is the month of Pride and I would like to present you two books that have marked a path of study in my young age.
The first is BI ON MALE BISEXUALITY by Jean-Luc Hennig and it is absolutely the first reading recommended by my psychology teacher with a gay theme, it was very interesting because I had chosen a controversial topic as the theme of my graduation thesis: "The bisexuality in the ancient world and up to the present day ”, in fact, having completed some studies aimed at the psychological study of our interiority, I understood some problems of society and for this reason I decided to talk about them.
Homosexuality is part of us, I grew up without prejudice thanks to the education of my parents so I have always had varied friendships, without some differences, if we want an overview: "we are all differently similar", but today I do not want talk about what I think, but the readings that have changed me.
If “BI” gave me the opportunity to learn about homosexuality and its differences in society with an empirical approach, the subsequent readings were of a different nature, the discovery of love in all its forms.
Annie Proulx wrote a beautiful book that in just 52 pages was able to convey many moods and the discovery of a cross-section of American society, so much so that they made a film "The Secrets of Brokeback Mountain" from it. book you absolutely must see the film, it is one of the cases in which the film manages to overcome the emotions that are transcribed on paper.
It is a raw and emotional story, I risked dehydrating myself, I cried almost the entire duration of the screening and in the end when we came out of the hall my eyes were swollen as if I had an allergic reaction, but I would have gone in immediately to see him again.
But what does my novel The Grant Effect have to do with the first two?
Our life experiences are also reflected in what we write, I wrote a love story but the characters that revolve around the protagonists are part of my past, the gay cousins, friends ... it is a theme that surrounds the story of Daniel and Aurora.
We authors manipulate reality, and often we are inspired by real stories or characters that with their characteristics are perfect for our story.
All this to say that the books I have read, but also the life I have lived have led me to write a Romance because at the center of our life nothing is more important than the love we receive and that we give to others.
#loveislove
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
For the Rainbow Cake I thank Sara Bellan Instagram profile @lameladibiancaneve
I am Cupid ,
by Francesca Silvia Loiacono
Hello readers friends,
since June is the month of Pride, I decided to talk not only about gay literature but also about traditional romance and contemporary sentimental, because #loveislove!
Today the protagonist is Io sono Cupido by Francesca Silvia Loiacono, published in October 2018 by the bookabook, publishers of crowdpublishing.
Before starting to read this article go to the Spotify App and put the Coldplay tracks because Francesca like me is a big fan of this band, but also because her novel is about dating apps.
Oh yes, times have changed, we no longer rely only on casual encounters, once it was like this, so much so that even my grandmother knew it when she told me "always go out in order and put on your lipstick!", Because it can happen at any time, at the supermarket or in a shop where you have accidentally gone to buy Christmas gifts. Encounters of fate or clashes as you turn the corner of an American comedy-style street… no, now we are giving each other a little help with technology.
I state that I have never used meeting apps , I use others since social networks are part of our daily life, but I have met many fantastic couples who met in this way, so why not?
The theme of the novel is Love , but also the story of a woman Rebecca who after a difficult divorce has a new job opportunity, is hired as a love matcher in the offices of Love Around , the famous dating app and as the title itself says. to do the job of a modern cupid. Around Rebecca (the protagonist) revolve other characters, the sympathetic mother Giulia and also a great lover of Tarots, it is no coincidence that Rebecca often clashes with the results of these who almost never get it wrong. The brother Dario, the Japanese girlfriend Yoko and Tommaso, his colleague in the office, you will discover the others who surround the story, ah yes even a basil plant!
I read this 274-page book in just a few days, even though some evenings I thought: “what now? Too few pages! " but when a story fascinates me I can't wait to see how it ends, in fact Francesca has been able to keep me anchored to the paper, she is very good, the book is fun and smooth, every now and then I laughed alone and then I felt my husband's gaze that he stared at me as he looked up from one of his detective or oriental literature books and asked: “do you like it? Can I read it? "
I also have a predilection for romance as you already know so I recommend this book to all female readers, plus there are some spicy pieces ...
As I scrolled through the pages I made up my own personal idea, the message of the book is this: can we seek love for others if we have not passed the end of an important and painful story?
Because you can commit to anything, but if we experience certain situations with great difficulty we must first turn the page, move on.
Io sono Cupido is a romance in a contemporary sentimental style, I would say chick-lit but not cheesy. Set in Milan where the author was born and lives (Milan is my second home), it was great to read some descriptions of the places. I don't want to reveal more about the plot, but if you want a book to read in the evening or under the umbrella on hot summer days to relax, this is the book for you.
Love is wanting the good
of the other, before any other
thing, and happiness is like one
basil plant: it must be taken care of
every day, with passion and dedication,
without ever taking it for granted.
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
If you are curious, here is the short interview with the author Francesca Silvia Loiacono.
What do you do? Digital planner at a media center (advertising).
When was your passion for writing born? Since elementary school I loved writing essays. Then, at 16, in the summer on a Greek island, I discovered poetry. From poetry to short stories to screenplay and finally to novels, the step was short.
Is this your first novel? No, it's my third novel
Why did you choose this theme? I have discovered over time that the contemporary sentimental novel written in a joking and comic tone is my genre, so more than anything else I would say that it is he who has chosen me! :)
Are the other novels romances? My first novel, written together with a friend who is passionate about writing like me, is an Urban fantasy ("The Descent of the Bright", published by Giunti), the second novel is sentimental, in the style of "I am Cupid", and is titled "Of cats and wishes", published by Albalibri. The love theme is the "fil rouge" in my literary production.
Is there the famous game of mirrors in this novel or is it all the fruit of your imagination? In my literary works there is always a bit of me both in the places and in the situations, and in the characters. Of course, like many writers, I manipulate reality and characters according to narrative needs, but basically there is always a basis of reality. It is no coincidence, for example, that the story is set in Milan, my city! The character of Yoko, on the other hand, is your invented one but embodies my love for the East and for a slower philosophy of life in tune with the rhythms of nature.
Are you writing something? I have finished a new novel and am still trying to figure out who I would like to publish with or how to do it. I am very open to news and I always like to look for new ways to give voice to my imagination ... As for my loyal readers, however, they can rest assured that I will not remain silent for much longer! It's a promise and every promise is a debt… so stay tuned!
The paradox of normality , by Matteo Secchi.
Hello readers friends, today I will talk to you about an author from my beloved land; Matteo Secchi was born in Cagliari, and he managed to amaze me with his debut novel.
I read it calmly enjoying the pages that slipped through my fingers, some books in fact I want to sip them, a few pages in the evening before going to sleep because this will lead to reflection.
At the beginning the story seemed very simple to me, I perceived references to current political life and to the 5-star Movement at its beginnings, but as I went on I understood the true purpose of this reading: a careful analysis of society.
I thought a lot, I reflected, we have a lot of material, if we want we can go back to the last century, to the first racial laws or to the birth of communism, one of the many reflections that I think Matteo wanted to propose to us through the eyes of the three protagonists Paolo, Carlo and Maurizio with their different ways of thinking, is this: for the common good can decisions be taken that do not protect minorities?
Let me explain, in history there is talk of a new political party called YOU because the citizens themselves decide on the bills by referendum or voting on the party portal, but why do we elect our representatives in parliament?
Why should they be above everything and do the good of citizens and the country… no?
Here I have always avoided talking about politics because what I try to bring out are people's stories and "their" thoughts, but I admit that as a woman and mother I often meditate on the future of our society and I think that Matteo wants to bring us to think to do something ourselves, in everyday life, in our small way.
The MFI is the average happiness index and is the fulcrum of the story, we act to make it grow and make citizens happier, starting from those proposals that would make some people wrinkle their noses: "from today the union between individuals of the same sex to balance the ratio of seven women to every man in the country. After the referendum, the bill passed in Parliament and will help raise the MFI ... "
This is one of the many proposals of the party, but I do not want to spoil the plot too much, I will tell you that there is a wonderful cat named Shibuya, faithful four-legged companion of the protagonist Paolo.
Matthew writes with wisdom and simplicity, the book is smooth and invites you to go on, 164 pages, published by Ilernel bianco.
I like this CE very much because it takes care of the editing and the books I have read so far are of great quality.
We are ready for happiness
but perhaps not enough for altruism
"The paradox of normality"
But for the more curious, here is a short interview with the author, I always find it interesting to reveal something about those who entrust us with their thoughts.
Why a theme of this type? And are there any autobiographical points?
I wanted to enclose more themes and interpretations in the novel, in the simplest and most concise form possible. It is a book containing questions and not answers. I do not have the presumption of being able to teach life, but I can try to make the reader think, lead him to look at reality from an unusual point of view, make him arrive at the paradox into which each of us falls when embracing a single vision of the world.
There are certainly autobiographical ideas, not personal, but of a generation. My. I have analyzed the thoughts of many of my peers and have seen them tormented by the constant pursuit of the unattainable, by the restlessness of having to identify with a conception of life. A generation that manages to turn their dreams into their nightmares. This condition makes them / us vulnerable to the indoctrination of those who have a single truth to propose.
When was your passion for writing born?
It was probably born before my birth, I think it's an atavistic need. My grandfather wrote children's stories, filled entire notebooks with stories that contained the most disparate morals. He has never published or attempted to publish, so I regard his exercise as the purest form of writing.
I had the same need from a young age, when my thoughts took on a clearer and more effective form with black letters on white sheets.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
Now I'm writing a second book, closely tied to the first. I am convinced that there is enough material to take the themes of The Paradox of Normality in several directions and I hope to be able again to accompany readers to some interesting reflections.
As for the reading, I am now in the process of finishing Norwegian Wood by Murakam i. It is a period in which I dedicate myself and I am fascinated by Asian literature.
I like to grow the storyline while writing, knowing where to start but not knowing where it will end. This makes it all the more interesting for the writer himself.
Matteo Secchi
For the cookies in the photo I thank: Sara Bellan Instagram profile @lameladibiancaneve
Good morning friends,
today I resume the cycle "my stories" even if in reality it is the review-interview of a book that I had the honor to present a few months ago.
In fact, this is a story of life and love that comes out of the usual canons to which one is accustomed in everyday life, I loved this book very much for the positive message it transmits.
Two men and a cradle , by Andrea Simone
Two men and a cradle by Andrea Simone is not a novel but a true story, as soon as I got it I was struck by the colorful cover, but also the title that reminded me of a famous film from the 80s. In reality it has nothing to do with that story because here we touch on a very current and controversial issue.
But let's start with the preface of the book, it was written by a person I respect very much and coincidentally is a great friend of the author, this is an advantage because he was able to highlight the merits of the story but also the true theme.
Usually the prefaces bore me, instead Lella Costa touches the right keys, the ones that dig under your skin and make you excited. But also the true essence of the book: the story of a love. Nothing trivial in my opinion.
What drives us authors to write?
The most beautiful and disparate reasons, I believe that in this case Andrea wrote his story to share it with all of us, he is a journalist, blogger and writer, when you do this job you want to share your thoughts and often your emotions.
In this case even more so because it touches on a personal and delicate subject: gestation for others. A current reality, and the fact that we talk about it so much gives me hope that people's mentality is evolving.
I think love has the power to make us better people, and reading the story of Andrea and her family left me with a feeling of optimism for our children's future.
The story of the book centers on Andrea and Gianni who decide to marry at a time when it was not allowed in Italy, so they go to New York city and crown their dream of love there.
But it is not the story of their marriage, it is much more, it is the chronicle of a choice, the conscious decision to have a child. Putting it in the pipeline, which is more difficult for boys than for women, but above all to go all the way despite all the difficulties.
It is a diary, if you want it can also be a travel diary since the two protagonists of the story have to go to California in order to have a pregnancy for others (controlled and guaranteed), here the real miracle happens because Anna, their splendid, is born child.
The author describes in great detail the moments of this adventure, marking them with dates and references, letting us experience his moods, because it is never easy to give birth to a child. There are descriptions of the places, their family life, their puppy dog and their precious friends.
I recommend this book to those who love diaries or biographies, because Andrea chronicles a very important period of his life with forays into his sometimes painful past. He is a man who speaks outspokenly, who knows how to convey feelings, but this is not a militant book but a work of sensitization, I believe that to better understand certain dynamics one should "get informed and know".
The message I got is this: "The only thing that matters is love, because love always wins!"
Two men and a cradle, Golem editions. 173 pages that read very fast, it is very smooth. I really like Andrea's style, clear and incisive.
Here are some answers from the interview with Andrea Simone Mongiardino.
Have a nice day
Aurora Redville
Why did you write this book?
I wrote this book because I wanted to keep a diary of the wonderful experience of fatherhood. I did it mainly because I wanted to put the emotions on paper exactly as I was experiencing them when I was feeling them, emotions that perhaps with the passage of time would have faded a little. And then because I would very much like Anna, when she is the right age to do it, around the age of 8, 9 or 10, to have a document in her hands that will allow her to read her story in detail and to understand how much we have desired and how much we love it.
Tell us about yourself and your love for writing: how was it born?
I had a journalist father who was a war correspondent for the Corriere della Sera and who brought home four newspapers a day. I have always liked writing, so much so that despite not having had an excellent scholastic path, I have always saved myself thanks to the fact that I did well in Italian and that I was one of those who did the themes well. Then, growing up, I chose to be a journalist, a job very similar to that of a writer
I would like you to tell us about your story with Gianni in order to understand the love that unites you.
We met in 2002 at a friend's house. I was 28, he was 34. Then we lost touch for seven years. We met in the winter of 2009 by pure chance, meeting in the area where I lived then, the Milanese Chinatown. We recognized each other and I liked him even then, or at least I had been very nice from the first night I met him. We exchanged again the phone numbers that we had lost in those seven years we hadn't seen each other. I wrote him a message asking him if he would like to go out to dinner: the unfortunate replied. On January 14 this year we celebrated 10 years of life together. We have been living together since February 2011, on March 29, 2013 we got married in New York and our love was crowned on August 2, 2014 by Anna's birth.
How did the idea of having a child come about? Why haven't you adopted a baby instead of turning to a pregnancy / gestation path for others?
Well, I've always wanted to have children, even though at 30 I had put the idea aside a bit. I have grandchildren and they were enough for me. Perhaps, however, precisely because at the age of 37-38 I realized that Gianni was the person I wanted to share the rest of my life with, I decided that in order to be truly perfect and complete, our bond needed a child. It is a choice that I am delighted to have made and that I would immediately redo. We did not adopt for the simple reason that singles are not allowed in Italy, let alone a gay couple.
I know you've given Anna four names, one of them after your favorite singer. Tell us about her.
Anna is called Anna, Dina and Maria, like the two grandmothers, and Whitney. The book is also a bit dedicated to Whitney Houston , my favorite singer, who passed away on February 11, 2012 and who led the kind of life we all know: she was killed by a lethal dose of alcohol, drugs and antidepressants, but above all from loneliness and from the relationship with an abusive husband. There is a song of hers, which is also a bit of the soundtrack of the book, which is "Greatest love of all", which I love very much and which still today - with 29 million copies sold - is the single of a singer newcomer who has sold the most in the history of music. In this song there is a verse that I love a lot and that says " Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be". It means “let the laughter of the children remind us of how we used to be. This is my wish for all those who want to read “Two men and a cradle”.
This is how it has to go . Inspired by a true story.
Hello readers friends, today I am talking about a very special person, the author of "This is how it must go", she is Stefania Calvellini and we "found" each other by chance.
The gift of the writer is to know how to convey a message through words, not only all that one should feel when reading a good story.
Stefania is a woman who transmits sweetness and positivity, to write this story so I will not follow a pattern but I will let myself be guided by the sensations.
As soon as I received this book I was excited because I knew there was a special dedication, I opened the package and I discovered a beautiful cover, a red heart painted on two joined hands, it is very captivating.
I did not know the theme because I like to be amazed, as soon as I started reading it I felt part of it, unfortunately more and more often we talk about "bad evils" that break lives in many different ways and you can never remain insensitive , especially when it comes to people you know or love. Just Tuesday I met a person I am very fond of who is not well, so I was thinking and rethinking how I could talk about this story and, in reality I realized that I just have to mention the plot because the rest you have to find out for yourself.
The protagonists are two girls Veronica and Alice , they don't know each other but their lives will intertwine in a way that no one could have foreseen. We speak of premonitory dreams, of life choices that when you are young take you away from home to study and achieve what you have always wanted, and of Love, what makes your heart beat the first time or that makes you move away from home. people you love so as not to make them suffer.
It is a book that deals with difficult issues but with positivity and lightness, with the awareness that life is a journey and sooner or later we will reach the end of our journey on this earth, the mystery remains for the later.
I cried almost immediately, that's how I am, when the topics touch my heart I need time to elaborate, so it took me a while to understand how to talk about it, what has come to my ropes is also the introspective journey of the protagonist , Veronica will take her life in hand and make choices, but to guide her will be a great force, in reality it could be anyone ... it could be me or you, the game of mirrors is always valid especially when to inspire us are true stories about which base a story.
Stefania's is in fact inspired by a story that really happened, she changed the characters but was so impressed that she wanted to tell it in her own way.
When you buy this novel you will have to do two things: first, turn on your stereo or your music apps and choose Ligabue: The best is yet to come and Little star with no sky; this was my soundtrack and I later discovered that Stefania is also a huge fan of La Liga so… they are perfect! Second, make yourself comfortable on the sofa or bed and dedicate three hours to yourself, the book is read quickly and there are 135 pages full of emotions, published by Bookabook was published on 7 March 2019, a few days ago.
I had to find out he was allowing me
To breathe, to think, to live. Was
important, it represented closure
of the circle of my new life.
Below I like to put some information in the form of an interview with the authors to allow you readers to feel them closer.
Where are you born?
I was born in an ancient village in the Tuscan Maremma, Roccastrada, in the province of Grosseto.
Where do you live?
I still live in Roccastrada.
What do you do?
I work as an employee at Pastificio Maremmano, the family food company, a pasta factory that produces frozen filled pasta.
Stefania is a woman with great passions that have accompanied her for years, besides writing she loves to travel and take photographs, she has also become a grandmother and as she herself told me, her grandchildren have taken her heart hostage.
When was your passion for writing born?
The passion for writing was born together with the idea of resuming studies. I had dropped out of school after eighth grade, preferring financial independence to a diploma. When my daughter was in high school, the desire to get back at school was born in me and I graduated in accounting. After graduating, I enrolled at the University of Siena and graduated in Law at the age of 46. Writing was my study partner, my escape valve when I was anxious about exams and, later, health problems.
Is this your first novel?
This is the way it has to go is my first real novel, previously I enjoyed self-publishing Sex and the town with My Book. It is a book that contains many of my thoughts on women. I also wrote poems and a few days ago I self published a small book about my grandmother, a great woman who left a strong mark on my life. The book is titled Being Santa (Santa was his name).
Why did you choose this delicate topic?
For my book I have chosen a very delicate topic, organ donation and transplantation. This is because, during a visit to the hospital, a lady told me about her husband's life that I liked so much that I also tried to tell it to all my readers. I changed the characters and fictionalized them but the idea was taken from a true story.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
I have two other books underway, a detective story (Maledetta fortuna) and a novel that deals, once again, with a delicate subject such as that of violence against women (Yet another yes). I'm reading Sacha Naspini's Le case del malcontento, a brilliant book about my beloved Maremma and its extravagant characters, really interesting.
Is there a sequel to the novel? Because it is self-contained but leaves a door open to the future of the protagonists ...
There will be no sequel to the book ... at least I hadn't thought about it until now ... so I rectify and say ... who knows ?! J
If you want you can follow Stefania on her Facebook page Amici di Penna
I wish you good reading and a good journey
Aurora Redville
The noise of the ball on concrete, by Dario Santonico
Good morning friends,
to continue to tell you "my stories" today I begin to publish some slightly different stories. By doing the work I love, I had the opportunity to meet people who share a dream, plans and hopes with me. This is why I will tell you about them and their novels.
The first is Dario Santonico, a boy originally from Colleferro in the province of Rome.
Often writers also have other passions, we are a bit of artists who have various ways of expressing themselves, in fact Dario besides being a geologist, a profession that keeps him anchored to reality, also has other interests… do you want to know which ones?
Passion for Holland and pastry .
As he himself says, they were born together and arm in arm when he had to do his degree thesis, in fact he was proposed to do an internship at TNO in Utrecht .
He tells me that he was a little scared by the idea of the move but he said yes anyway, he was very excited about this new life because he had never been to the Netherlands, it was a country unknown to him, but after exiting the airport of Eindhoven was struck by it. He was 27 years old and until then he had always lived at home with his parents, a mother who was very jealous of her cooking and this means that for 27 years he had never cooked.
He found himself 2500 km away from home with the need to survive and "so he started to read up and I discovered this passion for cooking, especially for pastry".
He lived in a dormitory with ten other boys and a huge kitchen that allowed him to live together in harmony "the beauty is that once a week we all gathered in this kitchen, each of us came from a different part of the world: a Swiss, a German, one from South America, a Greek ... everyone cooked something from their own country for the others, and I saw that what I was doing was very popular, so I thought well maybe I can do it and from there I started experimenting ".
He likes pastry a lot, let's say that a world has opened up to him, the precision that must be there when you make a cake, a tart, pastries or decorations.
But one of the things he loves most is making tiramisu, so much so that together with Eleonora (his wife) he had thought of making a dream come true, they wanted to move to Holland and open a Tiramisureria, basically selling tiramisu on a street food truck. in single portions "I would have done everything myself, everything on sight, both the ladyfingers and the rest".
It was a nice idea that could not take shape because lives change and priorities too, children arrive and therefore this possibility remained there in the drawer. But maybe Dario will surprise us one day.
His passions then blossomed there in Holland where he lived for six months, and he fell in love with that country, he admits that if he could he would go to work there tomorrow.
As for writing, on the other hand, he hasn't written for very long, but this is also an interesting story.
"I have always loved telling and novelizing the things that happen, but I never thought of writing a novel until a few years ago" then one day while he was in South Hampton doing a PhD he spent the weekends in a Costa Coffee eating and drink coffee and there he scribbled on a pad. And here he started to put his feelings on paper, what he felt in those days that anyway he was there in England "I was in this city that was honestly not my greatest passion, while I was drinking one of their very long coffees I said to myself : who knows if I would be able to write a novel?
And then I thought ok let's try !!! "
It was 2013 when he started writing it, then that was the time, always a short time, until a few years passed before he was able to finish it. So the love of writing was born recently.
Dario admits that: “I have always read and loved to read, for example at school it wasn't that I did very well in subjects, I was more inclined to science subjects.
I do not hide from you that friends and those who know me were quite amazed by the fact that I wrote a novel, but it is something that I have taken care of over time, for myself, I have kept it hidden because I just wanted to put pen to paper. my feelings ".
So this is how “The noise of the ball on concrete” was born, published by Bookabook in September 2018.
Let's talk a little about this story.
Plot .
Domenico and Giulio have known each other since they were ten years old. More precisely since, in the countryside of the Roman province, a badly kicked ball by Giulio united their lives for the years to come.
Now an adult, Domenico retraces the tortuous path of their friendship with his memory. From the days spent building tree houses to the first school trips. From first loves to fights. From sudden escapes to unexpected returns. Despite their obvious differences, the two insist on putting their constant and incessant strength into play to try to fill each other's roughness, finally finding themselves both complete. A story that speaks of a deep friendship, the evolution of dreams and the rediscovery of those roads that seemed forgotten forever.
When I started reading this book I had high expectations because I had met the author, I admit that one of my best friends is from Rome so I really sympathize with those who have this nice accent. Besides, I had already read something about the story because together with Dario I had done my Crowdfunding campaign with Bookabook.
After the first few pages, a beautiful memory came to mind, my first reading at school with the theme of friendship, Fred Uhlman's Rediscovered Friend. I was in the seventh grade when the literature teacher proposed it to me, I devoured it in a couple of days. Later he also showed us the film adaptation, it was really sad and touching.
Here, reading Dario's novel was a return to the past, although it is a reading that I highly recommend to kids, I can't help but convince adults too, it's a return to one's childhood, adolescence, school and university years .
For me, the university years were the most beautiful because I was in a new city, but those of adolescence are the most important, difficult periods of growth for girls and boys, the first life experiences, the first crushes, a very important aspect is that in this book we go back to a pre-social era, the “genuine” aspect of friendship in which the relationships between our generation were very different from those of today.
You had more time for everything, and socialized differently. This is found in the pages of the book, the story of a friendship that goes beyond everything, time, difficulties and distance.
When asked why did you write a book about friendship?
Dario replied: “because I asked myself what was the thing that has always made me happy! And friendship is one of them. "
Those of my generation know what I'm talking about, and if you want to explain it to your children or grandchildren, all you have to do is let them read a good book.
If during the holidays you want to be catapulted back in time, take a weekend and make yourself comfortable on the sofa, prepare yourself an herbal tea and open Dario's book, it can be read quickly because it is very fluent, the language is simple and takes you right away. There are only 187 pages with thanks, I always read them!
Good luck Dario for this new adventure and those that will follow!
Enjoy the reading
Aurora Redville
Checkmate to the White King, by Simone Giusti
Goodmorning everyone,
for this “review story” I have decided to act in reverse, first I will present the book and then its author; partly because he is not a rookie, in fact he already has eight published stories and twenty written short stories to his credit, and also because the interviews are always long (they told me that I spend too much time ha ha ha) so if you like the book review you can go ahead and find out who the author is.
Last night I finished reading the book of a writer friend that I had started only two nights before, to say reading is an understatement, in reality I practically devoured it. Okay that's 75 pages though, guys… that's all you could ask for in a good story.
In fact, I must confide to you that I was a little angry with the author, yes Simone is just like that!
I'll explain why: when I read a good book I fall in love with the characters, the story and everything that the descriptions of a place convey to me, in this story I really felt inside the narration, probably because it is fast, there is the pure action, the one you find in films and that you can see without imagining anything. He managed to make me imagine everything as in a movie.
The first part of the story is set in Africa , and I felt transported to those places, the second part in London. And as you already know it is one of my favorite cities.
Then let me say that the icing on the cake is the car I adore, how not to love the Aston Martin? Mine is a love that comes from afar ...
I really appreciated the ethical issue, talking about the uncomfortable realities that have little importance in this society, and also about the dream of a man who tries to change things.
Although there are some strong scenes, they didn't particularly impress me, perhaps because they are written within a suitable context, and you are expecting something intense.
The pace is always pressing from start to finish, there are no drops during the story and there is also talk of love.
The rematch is part of a journey and in this story it creates the whole.
So when I got to the 74th page I thought "what the hell, could it last a little longer!" but I don't worry since Simone Giusti loves to write and tell stories, I'm sure he will soon write another one.
It took four years to bring this idea to life, but the months of work on the first draft were about 6/8 months; all the rest of the time served to solidify and stratify the story and the characters.
Checkmate to the White King by Simone Giusti was published on January 25, 2019, published by The White Seed and is available in all online stores and bookstores.
The sentence that the book presents is:
"How strange are the ideals: they give nothing and take away everything."
If I have intrigued you even a little I recommend you read this book because it will give you very strong emotions during these winter evenings.
And now let's talk a little about Simone.
He was born in Pisa, class of 1977 and has a degree in Archeology. Like many other authors, he understood in time what his path was and with courage he decided to follow it!
What do you do?
I work with stories. Until recently I believed that to work with stories you have to be a blockbuster novel writer, because if you aren't blockbuster you can't survive as a novelist. But it was a very, very limited vision, the result of ideas and prejudices which, while speeding up the ability to extricate oneself in everyday life, enormously limit the potential of the human being. Thus, broadening the perspectives, I realized that the novelist activity is only a facet of the writing activity, or rather, of communication through stories. It communicates with stories through commercials, through persuasive copywriting, through public speaking, through training in storytelling (courses during which I give technical information accompanied by messages as is done with storytelling). Now I live with stories every day, finding facets of the narrative that I did not believe could exist before. The human being has infinite capacities, limiting oneself to prejudices is to follow paths that have already been traced, which are good for those who walked them first, but not for us. Your path is waiting for you, but the first one to follow it must be you.
When was your passion for writing born?
Always. Always because as a child I lived in stories, because as a child I played with stories, because I have always been a sort of creator and at the same time frequenter of stories. But that my passion was writing, or rather, that a facet of my passion was writing, was a discovery that happened by chance (not by chance but by synchronicity) during my archeology studies. Negative events are nothing more than shoving you out of your comfort zone to get you off roads that aren't your own and put you back on the path that a part of you you don't know has built for you.
Is this your first novel?
"Checkmate to the White King" is the eighth story published and perhaps the twentieth written, or so. The first dates back to eleven years ago. But this is the first time that I am aware of the protagonist's path also because I did that path together with him.
What is your kind of reading?
Space between non-fiction and genre novels, between fiction and scientific and philosophical investigations. In practice, I let myself be carried away by the wave produced by what I do not understand about myself towards readings that are useful to me. As far as fiction is concerned, I have an incredible passion for the sword & sorcery, which among other things has a fantastic Italian magazine (Italian Sword & Scorcery) with which I have recently collaborated. I also love cyberpunk, action, I also love history. The fundamental thing is that the story must give me, and by giving I mean that the story must be a conscious metaphor of something that will work within me to broaden my perspectives and make me discover something else about myself. To understand everything you have to start with us. Stories often help us by functioning as mirrors of us. But only if we want it. Everything is a mirror: only if we want it.
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel? Are any of the characters real and were you inspired by him / her? Or is it all a figment of your imagination?
In every story you put your own, indeed, you put all of yourself into it and, at times, you go beyond what you consider "yourself" by discovering realities of you hidden in the folds of you. In practice we are like dice with many faces: we choose which face to show but there are dozens of them besides that; well, in the stories the other faces come out. In this particular novel there is my personal journey of the hero, conscious for the first time (awareness comes once the journey is over: if there is before it is not a journey), completed for the first time. The protagonist makes that journey of the hero and with him other characters in the story make it. Antagonists and allies are those who show you the dark sides of yourself and those who help you understand them to overcome them and get to the end of the journey through the swamps of death until the discovery of something you did not know about yourself. That something cannot be told, it is something that goes beyond logic, beyond the word (Virgil does not follow Dante to Paradise, there is Beatrice who will lead him). That something is different for each of us. The novel is yes love, action, adrenaline, yes it is a captivating and rhythmic story, but it is a journey that you as a reader will take with him to get to discover things you did not know about yourself.
Are you writing something? And what are you reading now?
I currently have several projects in the pipeline. Leaving aside the purely commercial ones, I am working on sword & sorcery stories for the well-known Italian magazine, I am developing a game book (my first game book!), I am writing a commissioned dramaturgy and in the short-term projects I also have the end of the saga of Jimbo, an anti-hero who made his appearance three years ago and is now on his final adventure.
As readings, here too, following the intuition I am reading essays and novels. Everything that happens happens for a reason. Even the readings are always and constantly voices that speak to you about yourself.
Tell me something that changed your life.
There are two colossal events that have brutally (and by brutal I mean: tearing me out of the comfort zone) changed and improved my life. It happened two and a half years ago. I went to live with Denise and I met Michele. For those familiar with the film "The Matrix", he was my Morpheus: the man of the red pill or blue pill. Guess which pill I chose?
Here lies the key to everything you read in the answers above. If you are not satisfied, if you think that everything is negative, if there is always something that haunts you, if you want more, there are two things to do: intention to change (you must be ready to jump into the unknown, abandoning all certainties in which you grew up and in which, albeit painful, you rocked yourself) and change of point of view (being ready to see reality beyond what you are sure it is).
This has changed my life: intention to change and change of point of view. Your Denise and your Michael (Trinity and Morpheus, to stay in the "Matrix" metaphor) will appear alone, called by what commands all there is: the part of you you didn't think you had. However, this is not a country for Virgil, it is a country where Beatrice is in charge. Logic analyzes, but intuition drives.
Have a good trip and happy reading.
The keys of Plato, hunting for mysteries ...
Good morning friends readers, today I will tell you about another author who managed to pique my interest only with the title of his novel: The Keys of Plato.
I thought about which artist I could associate with this book and so I turned on my iPod and put in a very familiar track ... Max by Paolo Conte, then I don't know why but I continued with Charlie Parker, so if you want a soundtrack for a book I tell you what I listen to when I read.
I love music together with reading, and then I always love to write with a background, maybe I was studying like this ... I feel satisfied when I can associate things.
But I want to tell you a story, I had the idea of a thriller set in the time of the famous philosopher and instead ...
When I started the book I was catapulted to a particularly pleasant period of my life: the university years.
In fact, the opening theme of the book is the story of a homeless man, I wrote an essay for a sociology exam and I must say that reading the protagonist's emotions and thoughts made me think a lot and above all rethink a boy I had met and interviewed a cold winter day in the gardens of Porta Venezia. His was a very sad story, one of those that seem to come out of a film, however, unfortunately, reality almost always exceeds fantasy.
But you must not think that this story is the sad story of a homeless person, no, it is quite another thing ... but let's start talking about the author.
Marco Tempestini was born in Pistoia, indeed exactly in Casenuov di Masiano and he was so eager to come into the world that he was born at home ... They didn't have time to accompany his mother to the hospital.
He graduated in Ancient Philosophy with Francesco Adorno, a thesis on Apuleius as Plato's interpreter. He studied in Florence, and during his studies he always lived at his parents' house in Pistoia, they are two neighboring cities so it was simple. And perhaps that is why he remained rooted in his land.
Although he himself admits that he has always loved traveling and discovering new places, in fact he tells me that: "After university, I taught Italian for foreigners in some private schools and then in Madrid, I dealt with museums and I founded a cooperative that dealt with museum management and environmental education. "
I always ask the authors what kind of life they led because it is always interesting to know some details of people, and as I have said many times: traveling opens the mind and leads us to be more open with others.
Marco lived for a year in Madrid, Spain. He taught Italian language at the Italian Institute of Higher Culture of the Italian Embassy. And right in this city he met his wife, he was by chance (or maybe not?) At the Prado Museum he was struck by this beautiful Swedish girl.
When was the love for writing born?
"Like many, I started writing my first poems as a teenager, and then continued with more commitment during my university years, when I also started writing short stories (both for adults and children)."
What is your kind of reading?
“The genres are varied, but I'm very selective. In reading (as in many other things) I prefer quality over quantity. In addition to philosophy, I love literature, especially the classics, mystery novels, Italian authors full of irony (Flaiano, Stefano Benni) and poetry ”.
What are you reading now?
“I have several books on my bedside table, some of them I will need to deepen the topics of the next book (and therefore I do not reveal them). The others are Orlando by Virginia Wolf, The Tales of Irwin Shaw, Times Like These by Leonardo Nesti and Never Never by Diego Cabras. "
Are there any autobiographical features in this novel?
“I don't like writing about my private life too much. In "The Keys of Plato" I appear two or three times and only in a few small episodes, and in these episodes I am a child.
Even the characters are the fruit of my imagination, even if some of them have human and physical characteristics of existing people or who have existed.
Inside the book there are encounters with real artists, of which only one I am lucky enough to know ...
How was "The Keys of Plato" born?
“In 2005 I broke my tibia and fibula and was blocked for a few months. I started writing the novel without knowing where I was going and I wrote down 30-40 pages with the intention of continuing as soon as I had the time. Over the years, from time to time I picked it up again, but I never managed to find the momentum and the right moment to finish it.
Then in 2017, just twelve years later, I read about Bookabook on Facebook and I decided to send those 30-40 pages to the publishing house, adding a draft of the overall plot.
Having received the first approval from Bookabook, I threw myself headlong into the text and finished it in a few months, changing both plot and title along the way. Then here I am! "
Are you a puzzle enthusiast?
“As I said before, I like mysteries and of course also linguistic puzzles.
I really love ironic and mocking puns, which however have a bitter aftertaste or that make you think. "
Are you writing something?
"Yup. A sort of completion or continuation of "The Keys of Plato". I already have the plot in mind and also the title, all I need is time. "
Plot
1963, Rome, Lungotevere. A homeless man, named Plato, is found killed. The friend of adventures, Edoardo aka Sigaro, decides to investigate the murder. Plato bequeathed him two keys and a kind of riddle that should reveal unspeakable secrets and the reason for his death.
During the research, man will find himself in front of bizarre mysteries and characters, will have the opportunity to experience the freshness of a new love and will meet strange companions of adventure, in an existential journey that is both the search for truth and the need for redemption.
This novel is also published Bookabook October 2018.
It's one of those you read fast, 183 pages. It is smooth and pleasant, and very fluid, in my opinion it is very well written, we understand that the author has completed classical studies.
The story is simple, and it's a thriller that everyone can read because there are no scenes of violence. For example, I find it hard to read thrillers, I am quite suggestible, but I have always had a passion for thrillers, then if there is a mystery to be solved, all the better. I feel the protagonist of the story because I try to guess the next steps.
The thing I really liked is the plot. It is set in the past, the 60s, to be precise 1963, it was strange to live that reality, I was not yet born, but many have talked to me about those years in a really enthusiastic way, there was nothing of what we have today. No cell phones, no social networks, no stimuli to which we are now addicted. The TV had recently arrived, officially the programming began on January 3, 1953, it was still in black and white and this has been my vision of history. I imagined it all like an old 1960s movie starring Gregory Peck or Paul Newman.
So I immediately developed a liking for the protagonist.
It is a story out of time, because the protagonist lives a difficult reality, with surreal features but also very lucid.
Within the story there are many poems that give that extra touch for fans of the genre.
One of the very important aspects in my opinion in this book is friendship. It is talked about as if they were more stories intertwined together, because when you make characters "live" it is also important to talk about their past, the basis of who they are today. And I'm sure these protagonists will surprise you.
And then we also talk about love, a theme that is always important for any kind of novel, and as you know I always like to talk about love.
I wish you a good reading and I wish Marco a super good luck for what follows ...
Each of us is the creator of his own adventure !!!
Good day
Aurora Redville
Crushed by a myriad of broken branches
By the force of the wind and the rain,
a body, with a disfigured face, seeks comfort
deep in the earth, to give peace
to his blood stained soul
of monstrous crimes.
Never Never by Diego Cabras
Good morning friends,
here I am finally talking about another emerging author. I apologize for the delay with which I am publishing the posts but, sometimes the mother's job takes longer than expected especially if the children are sick at home, or on vacation. I would love to get estranged in my studio and think about the new characters that are being created in my head right now, but you can't and you find yourself reading books to your children or making them do some homework, or just playing with their.
It's about giving up time for yourself but it more than pays off when I look them in the eye and they smile at me, with those big blue eyes… and I melt .
During these holidays I was able to read only two books in the evening sitting on the sofa, and without going to sleep too late, I was always exhausted from the days and from the various outdoor activities. But our mind is always in continuous elaboration, our characters take shape day after day it is a moment to give them life, just write down on a sheet of paper and little by little something special is created.
Diego Cabras also has children and therefore he knows perfectly well what I am talking about, in fact while we were talking about his novel he also gave me to read a beautiful story for children that he wrote in a very short time during a break from work, and by "break" I mean a afternoon. I liked it a lot so I immediately read it to my children.
But I must not lose sight of the essence of this article, I'm here to tell you a little about this boy, this young author, but I still don't want to reveal too much about the novel, let's talk a little about Diego.
I like to do interviews with authors because something interesting always comes out, after all who writes a book always has something tantalizing to say, first because you get naked, or rather you bare your thoughts and ideas and this it is always very intriguing.
There are people who have not had adventurous lives, but who have always lived their existence in the same place, without the slightest curiosity for the world around them or perhaps they were afraid of the unknown, yet they have written beautiful books.
But this is not the case, Diego has lived a very adventurous life since he was a kid. But let's start from the beginning, the first question ...
When was your passion for writing born?
“I had been dreaming of writing a novel for years, but I never felt able to do it; I had no idea how to start. Years ago I helped a writer friend of mine for one of his books and my desire increased.
In 2016 one day when I was in the car with my wife instead… she was looking for something in her purse, I told her there must be a black hole in the bottom of the women's bags and I thought: "It's a good idea for a story!" as soon as I got home I took a pen and paper (yes, pen and paper!) and I discovered that stories "write themselves". "
Do you have any other hobbies?
“Besides writing? To read! Seriously, my only hobby right now is my family. "
Do you like reading, what genre do you prefer?
“I am a somewhat omnivorous and compulsive reader, although I certainly have an exaggerated passion for the historical novel. A special mention deserves Chuck Palaniuk, for whom I have a real veneration! "
How much have your life experiences contributed to what's in the novel? Does the main character look like you?
“Surely in every story I write there is always an autobiographical part, I continually draw on my life experiences… but I think it is up to the reader to try to understand where the writer is and where the fantasy is. Physically Jack does not look like me at all: he is tall blond and curly, while I am short, brown and smooth! Despite this, however, I would say that to describe the mental processes I certainly drew on my memories as a thirty-year-old (a lot has passed by now), above all to make the arrogance and underlying selfishness of the ambitious young man, which I certainly was at that age! "
Do you play video games in real life?
"Absolutely not! Even as a kid I preferred pinball to videogames "
But now let's talk a little about the book.
Why did you write such a book? What inspired you?
“This is a book" born in reverse ". Let me explain: one day I was walking and humming a song in which there was the word "never", repeating it obsessively I found that the expression Never Never had a nice sound and I began to wonder: "What could it be? ... The name of a videogame !! " From there I had to invent a virtual reality viewer that would allow you to do everything that is normally forbidden by common morality. In short, the title was born first and then everything else! "
And after this introduction, all that remains is to reveal the plot !!
Plot
When Jack enthusiastically accepts the invitation to spend a weekend in the mega-villa outside Rome of Gloria, his attractive boss, he believes he has finally succeeded in making her capitulate: he does not know, however, that it will be the beginning of the apocalypse and that he will be the author of it. Jack, an expert programmer, was in fact invited by Gloria to test a new video game for smartphones on which the company has invested all its profits: Never Never. Through augmented reality, the game allows users to carry out with impunity all those actions that in everyday life are not allowed by morality and social conventions.
It is a global success and Jack becomes rich and famous, until the game begins to show the first side effects: it seems to create a strange addiction in the psychologically weaker players, who can no longer distinguish reality from the game, becoming violent and very dangerous…
I met Diego through a friend, that is, we don't actually know each other in person but thanks to our roots we were able to discover each other through our books, and I read his debut novel Never Never with great pleasure.
Meanwhile, I liked it because it is light-hearted, cheerful and ironic. He was able to tackle a controversial issue with a light spirit.
Then in addition to virtual reality we talk about much more, about a boy's dreams and what happens to him, in fact there are two main characters, Jack and Gloria and he managed to characterize them in the right way, I liked them with their puzzles , weaknesses and flaws.
Gloria's then was able to surprise me especially in the final.
I have read a few science fiction books in the past and I have to say that as much as it is a mix of things there is also a lot of imagery of that kind, science fiction manages to make us aware of what could happen in the not too distant future, and Diego highlighted the weaknesses of man and our future.
The alienation that enters our unconscious and reveals itself with multiple facets.
But the thing I liked most being an incurable romantic is that even when everything seems lost, something good comes ...
His style is fast and smooth, never boring, he does not get lost in descriptions that would distract the reader from the story but rather he remains glued to the pages until the end.
It took me only two days to read it, only 160 pages so I said to myself "will there be a sequel?"
I asked the author.
I loved the ending but it's open, will there be a sequel?
"Honestly I never thought about it, for me it is a" closed "story but ... never say never !!"
Diego had a very intense life, which led him to get to know places far and very different from Italy. I guess he has opened his mind and that thanks to his experiences he will always have a lot of material for his future novels.
Because everyone knows that traveling opens new horizons to new fantastic adventures… on paper or not.
Good luck Diego!
Good day
Aurora Redville
We called it Never Never
because it allows you to do it with impunity
everything you can't do, never ever,
in everyday life .
Kiki Blu's rainbow balloon
Welcome reader friends,
after the Christmas break here I am to offer you a new reading that is ideal for this holiday period, why? Perhaps the title will make you understand.
The rainbow balloon by Kiki Blu (Author) and Veronica Sgrulloni (Illustrator), Publisher Independently published, 48 pages.
The song I suggest for reading is A Sky full a Stars by Coldplay, it seems to me suitable for this story.
Synopsis
This fairy tale is inspired by the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang and the theme of overcoming gender differences through the affirmation of complementarity. Have fun with the Tao rabbit to overcome interstellar gates and sea eddies, to find the balance that will allow the rainbow balloon to travel towards new adventures.
It's time for little readers!
This is a fairy tale for children aged 6 and up, in reality it is a nice illustrated book. I read it with my 7 and 9 year olds and I have to say that it is so cute that it is suitable even for the older ones. The story wants to convey a deeper message than what can be perceived at first impact, the language is fluid, simple and enveloping, the author takes you with her into a delicate and magical world where everything is possible. The balloon makes an incredible journey but the ending will satisfy your curiosity thanks to the protagonists.
The illustrations are really beautiful and the surprise of this book is that at the end there are images to color for the little ones.
At the beginning there is a quote that struck me deeply:
“We were born within the circle of life.
The human heart should also always be kept
round and complete. "
- Nakahara Nantenbō
If you are curious, here is a short interview with the author Kiki Blu that I had the pleasure of meeting, I wish you good reading
Aurora Redville
What do you do?
I manage a space for children and I manage educational and creative workshops for children and teenagers on the expressive arts, from art to cinema, to children's literature.
When was your passion for writing born?
In fact, I have always written. But I must say that it was philosophy that made me ignite the spark and in fact I wrote an essay on the philosophy of myth entitled “The flight of the gods. Myths, matriarchy and image ”published by the publisher Mimesis in 2017.
Why did you write a children's story?
Above all I wanted to leave a message through words and images, it is in fact a picture book, to convey the value and importance of gender equality through an eye to oriental philosophy.
What message did you want to convey with this story?
As mentioned above, my message starts from Eastern philosophy.
Among my various passions there is in fact traditional Chinese medicine, of which one of the cornerstones is precisely the importance of the balance between the two universal cosmic principles: yin and yang.
The balloon represents them well.
Tell me something that changed your life
It was a serious pathology lived in the family and the struggle I went through to fight and defeat it.
Notes on the author : I am Chiara Gianni, the mother of three children and also a researcher who loves books, telling stories, myths and ancient legends, in the belief that there is immense educational potential in books. My training is in the humanities field with a degree in Aesthetic Philosophy which led me to become passionate about the studies on myth and visual culture on which I did my PhD until I published a book entitled The Flight of the Gods. Myth, matriarchy and image in Ludwig Klages (Mimesis 2017).
After working for many years in the Communication and Marketing of an international company, from 2018 I decided to dedicate myself to children, obtaining a second master's degree in Pedagogical Consultancy for disability and social marginality and starting to collaborate with schools, playrooms, nursery schools (Assonidi Lombarda) and nursery schools as storytellers. My goal is to tell children fairy tales and to develop with them, in a dialogical and relational way, ideas and reasons for growth and comparison.
At the same time, I continued my passion for books on social media, opening my page on Instagram and the blog that currently has more than 10,000 followers. From January I will start, in collaboration with the Armando Curcio Institute, to hold a higher education course entitled "Bookblogger: how to become one?".
La piramide del Caffè di Nicola Lecca
Recensione “La piramide del caffè”, una favola moderna.
Bentrovati amici lettori,
oggi vi parlo di un libro che ho letto questi giorni: La piramide del caffè di Nicola Lecca, Editore Mondadori (9 febbraio 2021), 240 pagine. Prima edizione gennaio 2013.
Come sempre suggerisco la colonna sonora per la lettura, la scelta oggi è ricaduta su Fix You / Clocks - Coldplay (violin/cello/bass mashup) - Simply Three, è un periodo che mi piace ascoltare violini e violoncelli.
Trama
A diciotto anni, Imi ha finalmente realizzato il suo sogno di vivere a Londra. A bordo di un vecchio treno malandato ha lasciato l'orfanotrofio ungherese dove è sempre vissuto e, nella metropoli inglese, si è impiegato in una caffetteria della catena Proper Coffee. Il suo sguardo è puro, ingenuo e pieno di entusiasmo. Tanto candore finirà per metterlo in pericolo, e sarà allora Morgan, il libraio iraniano dagli occhi profondi, a prendersi a cuore il destino di Imi – coinvolgendo nel suo audace progetto Margaret, vincitrice del premio Nobel per la letteratura: anziana e ormai stanca di tutto, ma ancora capace di appassionarsi alle piccole storie nascoste tra le pieghe della vita... Nicola Lecca crea un'elegante fiaba contemporanea piena di pagine ironiche, capaci di illuminare la complessità del mondo.
Vi presento l’autore Nicola Lecca (Cagliari, 1976), è uno scrittore nomade che ha abitato a lungo a Reykjavík, Visby, Barcellona, Venezia, Londra, Vienna e Innsbruck. All’età di ventisette anni ha ricevuto il premio Hemingway per la letteratura. I suoi saggi filosofici L’amore perduto per l’attesa e Di quasi tutto non ci accorgiamo sono stati pubblicati in olandese dal Nexus Instituut di Tilburg. Ha inoltre pubblicato diversi romanzi: Ritratto notturno, Ho visto tutto, Hotel Borg, Il corpo odiato, I colori dopo il bianco, Il treno di cristallo,
Le sue opere sono presenti in quindici Paesi europei.
L’intreccio di questa storia è molto semplice ma non banale, infatti il protagonista Imi un ragazzo ungherese che viveva a Landor (anagramma di Londra, come mi ha fatto notare mio marito) in un orfanotrofio, compiuti i 18 anni lascia quella che è stata la sua casa e si trasferisce proprio a Londra, lasciando coloro che lo hanno cresciuto, con i quali ha condiviso tutto e lo ammirano, è così che si mescolano altre storie, come quella di Fàbiàn, Ada, Berta neni e Barnabàs.
Nella nuova città Imi trova un lavoro umile ma per lui è ben pagato e lo rende felice: fa il commesso in una famosa multinazionale del caffè “La Proper Coffee” che ben incarna una qualsiasi catena di caffetterie londinesi ma anche del mondo globalizzato. Mi ha ricordato infatti la famosa Starbucks dove andavo molto spesso quando mi trovavo a Londra, diverso era all’inizio degli anni duemila quando ancora sopravvivevano le piccole realtà locali.
Il ragazzo studia il manuale che l’azienda gli ha fornito e sogna di fare carriera proprio in questa nuova realtà, è abituato a non avere niente quindi il suo metro di giudizio è differente dagli altri dipendenti.
Nella storia entrano in gioco altri personaggi come Jordi un cameriere che si accorge degli errori che commette la compagnia nelle politiche gestionali, o Morgan commesso in una libreria e amico della scrittrice Margaret Marshall che anni prima vinse il Nobel.
Tutto sembra andare bene finché Andrew, il dirigente della filiale dove lavora Imi non gli ordina di gettare del cibo ancora buono, Imi si rifiuta perché pensa giustamente al suo passato e alla vita all’orfanotrofio. Viene così licenziato.
Nicola ci fa riflettere su cosa abbia davvero valore nella vita, ma anche cosa siamo disposti a perdere. Una parte molto intensa che descrive con malinconia gli stati d’animo dello stesso Imi.
L’autore ha una grande capacità di raccontare i personaggi, è impeccabile e sorprendente
nel descrivere l’animo umano, e ha un forte impatto emotivo che ti porta a leggere le pagine una dietro l’altra per scoprire cosa accadrà, il ritmo è costante e il linguaggio semplice ma elegante.
Il suo stile lo riconosci tra molti, è un artigiano della parola come allo stesso Nicola piace definirsi, perché ciò che lui costruisce sono proprio le parole.
Ne “Il treno di cristallo” ho trovato alcuni punti in comune ad esempio uno spaccato di società, persone che vivono realtà difficili ma che riescono a conquistare un posto nel mondo, un velo di tristezza che si posa su queste storie, ma anche la speranza che tutto può cambiare.
Le sue parole riescono a penetrare il cuore e ogni volta che finisci di leggere le sue storie con rammarico richiudi il libro.
Consiglio la lettura a tutti, ma soprattutto a chi ama le belle storie narrate con delicatezza, ironia e ottimismo.
Di seguito una breve intervista all’autore che ringrazio per la sua disponibilità e gentilezza.
Buona lettura
Aurora Redville
Come è nata l'idea di questo romanzo?
La Piramide del caffè nasce dal desiderio di raccontare tutto ciò che la globalizzazione ci ha tolto. Imi, il protagonista, dopo essere cresciuto in un orfanotrofio in cui i bambini sono misteriosamente felici, arriva a Londra e si impiega come barista in una famosa caffetteria.
Diventa molto bravo in fretta: tanto che, presto, riesce a fare il cappuccino meglio dei suoi colleghi più esperti. Questo è un problema per gli standard della caffetteria: che devono essere identici ovunque. E, così, Imi viene chiamato in direzione dove gli viene freddamente spiegato che, se vorrà mantenere il suo posto di lavoro, dovrà attenersi con maggior scrupolo alle linee guida riportate nel "Manuale del caffè" e preparare un cappuccino meno buono, ma in linea con le politiche aziendali.
Quanto è cambiata la tua vita rispetto otto anni fa?
L'accelerazione sempre crescente cui tutti siamo sottoposti è sempre più sfinente. Mi manca l'adorabile lentezza.
Che effetto ti ha fatto essere inserito nella collana degli Oscar
Mondadori?
È una collana di grande prestigio inaugurata da Hemingway con "Addio alle armi". Dei 250 libri che in Italia ogni giorno si pubblicano forse soltanto uno ha il privilegio di uscire negli Oscar Mondadori.
Progetti per il futuro?
La vita. Da vivere a pieno e senza fretta.
Trap Game di Andrea Bertolucci
Trap Game. I sei comandamenti del nuovo hip hop.
Bentrovati amici lettori, iniziamo il mese di febbraio con un genere tutto nuovo. Gli ultimi giorni di gennaio ho avuto l’opportunità di leggere un libro uscito da poco:
Trap Game. I sei comandamenti del nuovo hip hop di Andrea Bertolucci, Ulrico Hoepli Editore (23 ottobre 2020), 144 pagine. La prefazione parla da sola, infatti l’hanno scritta due grandi artisti, Emis Killa e TM88, a cura di Ezio Guaitamacchi.
Per l’occasione mi è sembrato carino far scegliere il brano che vi accompagnerà nella lettura allo stesso Andrea esperto in questo campo musicale: Lemonade ft. Don Toliver, Gunna & Nav.
Trama
Dalle anguste case diroccate nei sobborghi di Atlanta, la musica trap ha conquistato in meno di vent'anni tutto il mondo, influenzando molti aspetti della cultura giovanile quali il linguaggio, l'abbigliamento e i consumi. Con la partecipazione di alcuni fra i maggiori artisti sulla scena trap italiana - Lazza, Vegas Jones, Ketama126, Ernia, Beba e Maruego - il libro racconta gli argomenti prediletti (i soldi, il "blocco", le sostanze, lo stile, le donne e il linguaggio) sui quali questa musica ha edificato il proprio successo. Riccamente illustrato e aperto da un'introduzione storica utile a contestualizzarne le origini, il volume è corredato da diversi box che contengono citazioni, aneddoti, canzoni chiave e i "dissing", ovvero i più famosi litigi. La doppia prefazione di TM88 ed Emis Killa, il contributo di Filippo Agostinelli e la copertina di Moab, uno dei grafici italiani più noti nel "Trap Game", ne fanno un must per tutti gli appassionati del genere.
Inizio col dirvi che il libro è dedicato a Trevis Scott e i suoi genitori, nell’intervista all’autore scopriremo perché. Una cosa molto interessante è che con Andrea hanno collaborato ai contenuti del libro 6 artisti famosi nel panorama musicale quali il Lazza, Vegas Jones, Beba, Ernia, Ketama 126, Maruego.
Il primo impatto è la copertina molto in stile Trap e realizzata da Stole “Moab” Stojmenov, innovativo designer e art director, è interessante la proposta di condividere note sulle canzoni o “pezzi di vita” di alcuni protagonisti di questa scena musicale in molte pagine del libro.
Il testo si divide in sei sezioni e sono gli stessi artisti che parlano della loro esperienza: i soldi, il blocco, lo stile, le sostanze, le donne, la lingua. Viene fatta un’analisi a 360’, dell’aspetto linguistico, di moda e brand, ogni capitolo è un tassello di questa cultura più complessa di quanto può apparire.
Il termine “trap” infatti, si traduce in italiano letteralmente con “trappola”, “tranello”, talvolta addirittura “ostacolo”. La musica trap nasce ad Atlanta in un momento imprecisato all’inizio degli anni Duemila.
Quando mi sono approcciata alla lettura non mi aspettavo assolutamente un impatto così forte, e soprattutto non pensavo che potesse essere l’analisi di una cultura, diciamo anche uno studio sociologico, perché quando si analizza nei dettagli un fenomeno succede che veniamo presi dalle mille sfaccettature. Non sono un’appassionata del genere Trap, forse perché io ascoltavo i Rapper della vecchia scuola, ma credo di esserne stata catturata grazie ad Andrea e al suo linguaggio chiaro, il format di riferimento sono i giovani ma anche per persone adulte “è proprio l’intento del libro, essere apprezzato dal ragazzino ma anche da una ipotetica mamma” dice l’autore, io sono stata riportata indietro nel tempo, ho ripensato a quella estate del ’97 in cui ascoltavo Puff Daddy feat. Faith Evans & 112- I'll Be Missing You dedicata a Notorius B.I.G. scomparso nel marzo di quell’anno, ma perché parlo di fatti avvenuti molti anni prima? Perché Andrea fa un’analisi storica di questo fenomeno musicale, anni di ricerca suoi ma anche di vita vissuta degli artisti, le loro parole, la presenza inedita ed esclusiva degli artisti porta questo libro ad essere un oggetto di culto per gli appassionati.
Ho fatto una lunga e piacevole chiacchierata con Andrea e ho scoperto tante cose nuove grazie alla sua conoscenza, ma anche che a volte basta leggere un libro che ti fa uscire dalla tua comfort zone per scoprire un mondo tutto nuovo. In questo testo troverete alcuni termini di cui non conoscevate il significato (o forse sì), è spiegato tutto molto dettagliatamente e con grande semplicità. Penso che per qualsiasi autore avere due grandi artisti che scrivono la prefazione del tuo libro sia una specie di traguardo, questo è ciò che è successo ad Andrea con Emis Killa eTM88 uno dei produttori internazionali e una leggenda vivente.
Consiglio la lettura di questo libro a tutti gli appassionati ma anche a chi come me è curioso, è amante della musica o vuole semplicemente conoscere meglio questa “cultura” per comprenderla, se siete curiosi c’è una breve intervista all’autore che ringrazio per la disponibilità.
Buona lettura
Aurora Redville
Come mai hai dedicato il libro a Trevis Scott?
Perché secondo me è la figura che ha legato la vecchia scuola dell’HIP HOP proprio a livello estetico e stilistico, l’ha traghettata verso un nuovo modo di intendere la musica che non è solo con la sua scrittura, ma anche con il suo stile, il sound, è una persona che ammiro e seguo, spero di poterlo incontrare presto a Houston e regalargli il mio libro.
Mi ha colpito il filo conduttore, la narrazione storica, perché è tutto spiegato nei dettagli, come ad esempio la figura della donna. Parlamene.
La figura della donna è molto importante proprio perché molti – è un falso mito- attaccano la trap come musica maschilista, noi non possiamo dire che non lo sia, basta leggere alcuni testi ed è evidente, però è solo una scorza apparente perché in realtà la scena trap lascia molto più spazio alle donne e me lo conferma la stessa BEBA, ad esempio la stessa Old school dell’HIP HOP paradossalmente lascia molto meno spazio alle donne pur non utilizzando parole così dirette come la trap, nel 2019 ad esempio per farti capire come è cresciuta l’importanza della donna, è stato l’anno che ha visto più donne rapper nella classifica internazionale la TOP 100 di Billboard sei o sette nomi solo di donne, questo dieci anni fa non avveniva. Un altro passaggio importante dell’evoluzione di questa musica è molto legato alla mamma, la figura materna è quasi un’ossessione, come Sfera Ebbasta che spesso la mostra sui social, la figura della mamma è stata molto riabilitata nella trap. La paura dei genitori spesso è dovuta alla non conoscenza, sentono magari le parole di una canzone e pensano che è diseducativa, come anche la terminologia estrema è stata adottata dal popolo femminile per farla perdere di significato, come la parola “bitch”, loro stesse si autodefiniscono così.
Tu parli anche delle collaborazioni tra grandi artisti della musica Pop, come Pharrell Williams, Lana Del Rey, Beyoncè, Ed Sheeran, questo è un fenomeno nuovo?
Sì è un nuovo fenomeno, una volta la musica trap era molto più granitica, arroccata, invece adesso è molto più sfaccettata, si è mescolata con altre culture, altri generi fuori da essa, sono nate così canzoni da classifica, o il Latin-trap, che ha unito le due Americhe nell’era di Trump che cercava di disunire, e l’Afro- trap che si è andata a mescolare nei ritmi africani perciò nelle Banlieue parigine i giovani di seconda o terza generazione prendevano i ritmi delle loro terre e li mescolavano con la cultura dominante giovanile: la trap.
Quindi proprio come dicevi tu questi cantanti negli ultimi anni l’hanno diffusa a livello internazionale e quindi oggi è disseminata all’interno di altre culture.
Che messaggio vuoi trasmettere con questo libro?
È proprio importante riuscire a capire, è difficile storicizzare mentre il fenomeno accade però è quello che dobbiamo fare con un’analisi, perché la trap non è musica, la trap è una cultura, è solo uno degli aspetti, la trap è il vestiario, il linguaggio, è un brand, con queste basi si può arrivare a una critica costruttiva di questa cultura, non solo sul sentito dire, proprio perché in questi ultimi anni è stata legata ad argomenti di cronaca ad esempio la tragedia di Corinaldo, in quel caso sembrava che la colpa fosse della musica trap, ma non è così. Questo libro vuole quindi spiegare che può non piacere ma almeno abbiamo le basi per conoscere il fenomeno e poterlo criticare e anche apprezzare.
Biografia dell’autore
Nato all'alba degli anni '90, Andrea Bertolucci è un giornalista e scrittore esperto di cultura giovanile e si occupa di trap fin da quando questa ha mosso i suoi primi passi nel nostro Paese. La sua attività professionale lo ha avvicinato negli anni ad alcune tra le principali redazioni televisive e web nazionali, con le quali tuttora collabora.
“Mario Mirko Vucetich (1898-1975). Architettura, scultura, pittura, disegno”, di Andrea Speziali
Alla scoperta del Liberty di Mario Mirko Vucetich
Bentrovati amici lettori,
oggi vi parlo di un libro diverso dal solito infatti non si tratta di un’opera di narrativa ma di un volume di Storia dell’Arte il cui titolo evoca ricordi non troppo lontani.
Mario Mirko Vucetich (1898-1975). Architettura, scultura, pittura, disegno di Andrea Speziali, Editore: Silvana; Bilingual - Illustrated edizione (10 settembre 2020), 416 pagine. Genere Storia dell’Arte.
Per la lettura suggerisco un brano di Incognito featuring Mario Biondi and Chaka Khan "Lowdown".
Sinossi
Il volume accoglie il primo studio monografico dedicato a Mirko Vucetich, un artista originale di grande versatilità, il cui nome, legato a grandi successi in vita, merita oggi di essere debitamente ricordato.
Di origini dalmate e vicentino d’adozione, Mario Mirko Vucetich (Bologna, 1898 – Vicenza, 1975) si è distinto come architetto, offrendo una personale interpretazione del gusto Liberty e Art Déco in diverse costruzioni come Villa Margherita al Lido di Venezia, Villa del Meloncello e Masé Darì a Bologna, Villa Meriggiani in Somalia, Villa Scalera a Bacoli o l’innovativa Villa Antolini a Riccione. La sua esuberanza artistica ha dato ottime prove in campo scultoreo, accogliendo suggestioni dapprima simboliste, poi legate alla poetica del Novecento. Dedito anche alla pittura e al disegno, ha partecipato in diverse edizioni alla Biennale di Venezia e alla Quadriennale di Roma. Personalità curiosa e poliedrica, Vucetich è stato inoltre poeta, traduttore, scenografo, regista e attore: uno dei suoi lasciti più conosciuti è la celebre 'Partita a Scacchi' con personaggi viventi di Marostica, ideata nel 1923 ma da lui riprogettata nel 1954 con un grande apparato che l'ha resa il grande spettacolo di successo che è ancora oggi. Il volume, scandito in capitoli tematici, accoglie un ampio catalogo iconografico ed è completato da un regesto delle opere.
Molti di voi lettori sanno che ho studiato Architettura quindi potete immaginare quale emozione sia stata per me ricevere un volume di questo tipo, la copertina è bellissima e l’edizione è curata nei minimi dettagli.
La prefazione è stata scritta da Vittorio Sgarbi e dico già tutto, perché se un gigante della storia dell’arte italiana ha partecipato alla diffusione di un progetto di queste dimensioni è solo grazie al grande valore di questo artista poco conosciuto, ma anche dell’autore Andrea Speziali classe 1988 che si è distinto nel panorama nazionale come massimo esperto d'arte Liberty e curatore di molteplici mostre e pubblicazioni in campo artistico. In campo internazionale come attivista nella ricerca, studio e valorizzazione in veste di divulgatore scientifico dell'affascinante corrente artistica Art Nouveau.
Si potrebbe pensare ad Andrea come a un ragazzo cresciuto in una famiglia di artisti, invece è figlio di genitori lavorativi in tutt’altro ambito, con una passione innata che fin da ragazzino ha influito prima nella scelta del liceo e poi alla realizzazione della sua tesina di diploma.
Ho avuto il piacere di parlare con lui, e ho scoperto molto sulla nascita di quest’opera, la fatica e il tempo che ha dedicato alla realizzazione di un unicum. Consiglio questo volume a tutti gli amanti dell’Art Nouveau, l’architettura, la scultura o semplicemente gli appassionati dell’arte in tutte le sue forme, perché Mario Mirko Vucetich è una figura poliedrica.
Di seguito l’intervista all’autore
vi auguro buona lettura Aurora Redville
Come è nata la passione per l’Architettura liberty?
Chiaramente sono rimasto affascinato dall’ingegno di questi architetti che a inizio ‘900 hanno saputo raccontare con linee sinuose e seducenti “a colpo di frusta” tutta la bellezza di un movimento chiamato Art Nouveau, attraverso i colori, le forme e le tonalità, i modi di progettare gli spazi interni di queste sontuose ville, ma anche dalle forme d’arte e artistiche come mobili, arredi e arti grafiche che ancora oggi affascinano il pubblico di tutte le età, soprattutto anche i più giovani.
A parte Vucetich quali artisti apprezzi maggiormente di questo panorama?
Sicuramente per Vucetich ho un debole perché è stato una vera e propria scoperta nel panorama internazionale, un vero gigante del ‘900 di cui sono riuscito a scovare e ad aprire un tesoro fino a ieri sconosciuto ma inedito, ho un debole anche per tutta l’arte di Aleardo Terzi, ma anche Giuseppe Parenti, Klimt anche se è molto scontato portai un suo dipinto in una mia mostra; è interessante la figura di Giorgio Kienerk, Giuseppe Sommaruga, Mazzucotelli… loro entrano nella rosa di quelli che ho nel cuore.
Per te che cosa ha significato la realizzazione di questo volume?
È il risultato di una storia tutta italiana che coinvolge più protagonisti, a partire da Vucetich, gli eredi Maurizio e Maria Grazia Breganze, vicentini e custodi di questo tesoro inedito, ma anche tanti artisti (spesso di Vucetich) come Neri Pozza, Boccioni, Depisis che insieme verranno riuniti in una mostra che si farà a dicembre ai magazzini del sale di Cervia dal titolo “Inedito ‘900 nella collezione Breganze” sveleremo al pubblico in maniera viva tutte le opere. Ma è anche la vicenda di Villa Antolini con i suoi vari proprietari e me, tutte le persone che ho coinvolto -che sono migliaia- perché è stata una ricerca impossibile, ho dovuto smuovere città intere per poter arrivare a queste opere. Prezioso l’amico Sgarbi che è stato d’aiuto e ambasciatore di tante mie battaglie, soprattutto quella più comune: la valorizzazione del bello e dell’inedito.
Qual è l’aspetto dell’arte del Vucetich che a te piace maggiormente? L’architettura, la pittura o la scultura?
Sono due cose che vanno distinte, perché l’architettura ha un suo fascino e la pittura ne ha un’altro, di Vucetich amo il GENIO, senza indicare una cosa particolare, è la genialità di trasformare un qualcosa di comune in un’opera d’ARTE. Basta pensare alla famosissima partita a scacchi di Marostica di cui lui ne è autore, progettando le sue architetture dalla a alla z, dal dettaglio al complesso.
Mi ha colpita molto la tua ricerca delle opere del Vucetich in giro per l’Italia, l’Europa e gli Stati Uniti, cosa ti è rimasto di questa avventura?
In ogni viaggio, ogni percorso o tragitto ho conosciuto svariate persone ognuna con la sua storia e condividere le proprie esperienze e gli interessi ha attirato contatti e rapporti che ancora oggi sto rivedendo, apprezzo molto l’aspetto della condivisione e delle storie perché sono quelle che fanno valorizzare un po’ il tutto.
Che messaggio volevi lanciare con questo volume oltre che di carattere artistico?
Sicuramente far capire che per tanti anni il 90% delle varie esposizioni sono un trita carne di cose conosciute e riconosciute, questo è un messaggio per dire: “svegliamo quello che è l’inedito, il bello, quello che ancora se n’è parlato poco o per niente. Proprio per questo l’associazione Italia Liberty e poi io che ne sono Presidente abbiamo voluto realizzare un lavoro su Vucetich, perché effettivamente era un gigante che raramente trovava spazio nei libri e nelle pubblicazioni perché nessuno conosceva la sua storia.
Quanto hai impiegato a raccogliere tutte le informazioni riguardo Vucetich?
È un lavoro di 12 anni. Ho concluso proprio con quest’opera, pensa che ho scovato la lanterna originale che apparteneva a Villa Antolini e fu rubata, come disse la proprietaria dell’epoca la signora De Angelis. L’ho trovata per caso come fosse un segno del destino, non sono riuscito a metterlo nel libro perché ci sono delle ricerche in corso però mi è stata confermata la provenienza e adesso seguiranno delle vicende.
Questo volume verrà utilizzato a livello universitario? Era uno dei tuoi obbiettivi?
Non era proprio questo il mio obbiettivo ma sicuramente sarà usato per questo settore.