In Prima Persona Una memoria controcorrente by Alain Finkielkraut

 In Prima Persona Una memoria controcorrente by

Alain Finkielkraut is a stunning philosophical book with a good and friendly approach; it's for every kind of reader. 

It starts with a lucid analysis of the jewish condition. Yes, Alain didn't ask too much to his parents, he confesses and what happened during the Holocaust remained between the lines, although his father remarked: no more an horror like that one. No, the Holocaust didn't at first touch Finkierlkraut, too absorbed by his studies and life but...

It wasn't the end, but just the beginning.

Although there is an endless literature plenty of memories of what happened,  first people's tales from the horror about the horror, Anne Frank, Primo Levi, two examples, Alain discovered with sadness and surprise what the revisionism wanted to affirm: that what told by jewish people was not the truth; with the time Alain discovered with apprehension that, to some groups of people, the Holocaust was affirmed, it was not an invention, but exxagerated. 

In this confusion, the situation of Jewish people reclaiming a State returned to be again matter of different kind of confrontation; in this world always more confused, always more populated by english language, where french language is mispelled, not treated well, and where everything is cultural without to be culturally good, we discover also that on Sept 11 2001, there was something else that was going on in the world; not only anti-semitism, but the understanding that a war of values, civilities was going on and no one noticed it; it was like a phantom; it was close to us, but we didn't notice it till at the moment in which the Twin Towers and more than 3000 souls disappeared in a few minutes.

In France laicity and values of the nation affirmed a lot of time ago are incredibly important; and what to say of Notre-Dame? A wonderful cathedral, but much more a symbol for the city and for the entire western catholicity. The shock of the big fire confirmed the big attachment, catholics or not, of every parisienne and men of this world.

Tourism with the time has destroyed the best parts of the world affirms Alain Finkielkraut; every little town, big city, became  a product, not a reality to explore. The tourist should avoid a place, for saving it adds Alain and in this sense I remember the situation of Venice. Before the pandemic flu the city was in big distress because there were too many tourists; tourists are different from the ones of the past, and everyone can travel. Every space, corner of a town is used for touristic purposes, but doing it the place loses its soul, populated as it is by wagons of people and a lot souvenirs.

Plenty of confessions, reflections, doubts, certainties, with a lot of biographical touches this book is.

Alain had prestigious teachers and professors, studied in eminent schools, met along the way Milan Kundera, who, adds the author, opened his universe not just at philosophical abstraction, but literature. I loved this idea of  good book as expressed by Alain: "Big books Read Us" not the opposite.

Highly recommended.

I thank Marsilio for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori