Il Gran Teatro del Mondo by Philipp Blom

 It's a little but dense book this one by Philipp Blom Il Gran Teatro del Mondo,

published by Marsilio. I appreciate this author so badly. I discovered him thanks to another book released by Marsilio Un Viaggio Italiano. Storia di Una Passione nell'Europa del Settecento.    Blom is not reassuring regarding the state of the world: the COVID-19 pandemic is just the last disgrace in a world in turmoil where, only a Hollywood's movie can see a good, happy end.

Will there be a happy end for the humanity and which world is waiting for us? Sure a chaotic one, where emigrations and emigrated will become a lot more thanks also to meteorological conditions that in a more or less close future won't permit to cultivate anymore anything; places will become deserted; other will disappeared because of the melting of the North and South Pole; there are not good news for the Oceans, because placton won't survive (the composition of water will change, because the North Pole and South Pole don't have salt water, and mixing the two ones...Oxigen will end.

We will assist at the moltiplication of new animals and spieces, and where there is a Mediterranean good weather the arrival of tropical, nasty illnesses.

The situation of the Planet is of great urgency but no one did anything for interrupt what we see in a daily base: new destructions, fires, floods, inondations, tsunami and whatever extreme phaenomenon we can report. After all, also the Covid Pandemic is a sign of the times and of the implosion of the Planet. The model of the world as we see it, will drastically change, admits Blom. If the emissions will be brought at level 0 in the 2050 by rich countries, if the accelleration of the climate changes will continue at these rythms probably important countries like Austria, France Holland and Germany will be  partially or entirely buried for that time in the Ocean. I am pietrified: I love all these countries.

Obesity is not anymore an illness of the rich, but of the poor ones; industrialization brought a completely different world, the idea of the so-called Homo Sapiens, depredating every possible nature resources has brought the world in the age of petroleum and so pollutions in any possible shape.

This world is just apparently beauty, affirms Blom; the modern man is like a man in a  zoo; this one isthe pale idea of the world seen and lived by his ancestors; he is like an animal grown up in a farm; he eats, he is ripetitive; protected by the aggressions, sometimes he finds one of two females with which having some sexual intercourses: this zoo, this alienating experience of the modern man is dangerous because the homo sapiens doesn't see or think or desire any other world, and can't conceive other realities. When the world will abruptly change, affirms Blom, if man will still exist, this historical period will be considered as his own hybris. Reality is that there is not a world in grade of let live all the people of the Planet with the decency that they should have; for making happy everyone, using as parameters our Western countries we should have three of four available Planets. It is a dream the idea that the so-called Homo Sapiens is the most beautiful and stunnig creature of this universe and world: no! We are in the same Critic Zone like the rest of the creatures, animals, plants, flowers of our Planet.

Critical also with the new system created by society, politicians are always more close to clowns affirms Blom, and celebrities are the modern heroes.

We are close to the end of something: our society can't continue with this consumerism. And this one is a systemic crisis, involving the entire world. Maybe this collective experience, because there is not a corner of the world that it is in peace "thanks" to the climate changes, will mean a new conception of the world, where people won't search of having always more and where knowlege and respect of this world will pass through ethical behaviors.

Philipp Blom started his narration re-seeing a little theather built by one of his ancestor. This tee-ager was very unluck; he died when he was just 13 years; but the imaginative world, characters, he had created with papers, are still in the imaginary world of the author like also the cultural food in terms of fairy-tales that nurished his soul with.

A stunning book everyone should have in their bookshelves. More than reassuring tales, more than hypocritcal words, for let us going on well in this zoo, ladies and gentlemen, only the truth on the state of our world!

Highly recommended.

I thank Marsilio for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori