We, the Wanted by Matthew Schultz Illustrated by Jordan Lepore

 We , the Wanted

by Matthew Schultz Illustrations by Jordan Lepore is a new book by John Hunt Publishing, telling the story sets in 1847 of Patrick Gallagher. That years have been known as the ones of the Famine and many irish people decided to afford to the USA, or Canada for finding a different and more prosperous future.

Patrick started his own trip in a ship directed to America but then the course of the events because of something that happened in the while, changed destination and...creatures that he, and the rest of the remaining people of that ship, would have met.

He will end in a forest, in fact, surrounded by magical and mysterious creatures, discovering also the complexity where they had fallen in.

Patrick didn't believe in the magic or in magical creatures, but slowly and with the help of Angela, a black girl, and ex slave, daughter of a famous lady practicing the voodoo will understand better forces, to him, unknown.

A beauty story, this one proposed by the publishing house John Hunt, with an illustration for each chapter.

Highly recommended book.

I thank John Hunt Publishing for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Le lait de la Lionne by Isaac Bashevis Singer Illustrated by Philippe Fix

 Le lait de la Lionne by Isaac Bashevis Singer Illustrated by Philippe Fix is a wonderful little book released many years ago by Gallimard. The story the one of two spirits, Luck and Misfortune. These two spirits are completely differents: Luck is beautiful and young, Misfortune is old, ugly and repellent.

If the first one brings abundance in the existence of people, Misfortune will create a lot of conditions that won't permit to the men of being happy: illnesses, incidents, tribulations of various genre.

If Luck will build the existence of people driving them in the good direction, giving possibilities to people, presenting peace, harmony, love, friendship and stability, Misfortune will fight with all himself for destroying what Luck did.

The first spirit will permit to a young boy called Tam, the poorest one of the village of meeting for an apparent casuality the king of their reign and his beautiful daughter, Nesika.

Nesika had refused a lot of boys, because unsatisfied by all of them, but it was necessary to find for her a husband.

The king had had some problems during the trip, sorted out by Tam.

Appreciating the boy, the king offers him several roles at court.

Once, the king falls sick and the only possible cure is the milk of a lioness. Tam decides that will help the king!

And here the entrance in scene, again, of Misfortune: Misfortune will cause some trouble although Luck will fix it, and at the end you'll see that happiness, joy, serenity will win against that horrible creature.

I found this little book adorable. Luck plays an important role in our existence. If we are luck and we meet good people, good places, our existence will be beautiful; if we meet wrong and unsupporting people, wrong places, we won't go too distant.

It's a little fairy-tale this one, wonderfully illustrated, let me add, but that will let you think a lot.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Nel Nome del Figlio by Maggie O'Farrell

 Nel Nome del Figlio

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell is an intense story that will conquer all of you, in particular if you like William Shakespeare and his works.

I confess that you won't remain indifferent: a story like this one is terribly intense: the departure of a son or a daughter is the biggest sufferance that two parents can experience.

Agnes, the girlfriend of William Shakespeare, at the time not so famous but a teacher and someone who had still to find his place in this world, was a weird creature; someone who guessed illnesses, future of people and for this reason considered a sort of witch by the locals.

William thought that her being so wild, her being so unique was more than sufficient for falling in love with her; when Agnes touched for the first time William was like to enter in many different worlds, all beauty, colored, and she understood that was falling in love for this complexity.

Once married, Agnes understands, although they have had their first child Susanna, that her husband can't continue to live in Stratford; she suggests him the life of London; and William leaves, all excited, for good. His family had a business; they sold gloves, but what attracted the most William once in London was being part of the theather, writing down comedies or tragedies, creating a company.

Agnes spends most of the time alone and when the other babies are born, two twins, Hamnet and Judith, William is not yet arrived home.

She is alone and she knows that this choice, the one of "setting free" from this domestic environment her husband has been wanted by her, so she shouldn't complain. 

But, she does. 

She does because she notices that when there are difficulties William is not there, in that place that keeps him so unhappy, but in London, happy, cheerful, and pragmatic. William lived in a little tiny place, with few essential things for a living. A table, a desk, a bed. That's it. No luxuries for William but a spartan existence dictated by rythms of work pretty strong.

It's a day like another one, yes: Hamnet and Judith are alone, in their house. They are surrounded by servants, a lot of family members, but strangely that day there is no one. Hamnet notices that the sister is not fine. She decides to go to bed; she becomes more sick and more sick every seconds that passes by; Hamnet rushes to the house of the doctor after having searched for his mother, granny, sister...

When Agnes returns home understands immediately the gravity of the situation: plague! It's the plague.

Oh my...She's more than sure that Judith will die.

She will die because the weakest one, the one with a constant necessity of help: they could not afford for a living in London because Judith couldn't survive at long in that city considering her health conditions.

She will die, because she did not have these two babies in the forest, but at home. She will die.

While Agnes is sleeping, exhausted, Hamnet feels that he is not fine, as well; he understands that it's plague and he wants to save the existence of Judith. Judith musn't die. She must live, she must become a woman, she must have her existence.

He will take the place of her sister, as they did in too many other occasions. They are twin and they will be always connected; he will cheat death, and death will capture him, not his sister.

When Agnes discoveres that Judith is coping well with plague is so happy, but then she sees Hamnet...Hamnet, the strongest one; Hamnet the one she hasn't never thought that could have met any problems at all in the existence; the one she hadn't overprotected, because, simply, there wasn't any kind of necessity.

Plague will kill Hamnet and it is strong what happens after; the preparation of the body, the arrival of William, the sadness, the life that will continue for everyone but not for Hamnet, not for their son, immortally a kid, without the possibility of becoming an adult.

William leaves after the funeral. He must return to London for not become crazy by all that pain. 

One day Agnes understands that William has written a tragedy called Hamlet. At first, she is simply horrified. Agnes doesn't read and writes just few things, without a proper logical order.

She goes to London for attending the show and there, she recognizes that this one is the only possible tribute for keeping alive, and forever their beloved son.

The book is articulated starting with a first chapter that will introduce us the story of Hamnet and the second one the love-story between William and Agnes and so on; you can decide of reading at first all the chapters involving the story of Hamnet and in a second phase the ones of Agnes and William or you can maintain the reading in the way proposed by the book.

It is one of the best books I have read. Maggie has a wonderful writing-style, in grade of penetrate in the most hidden recess of the mind, presenting us strong portraits of human conditions and feelings.

I also found interesting the geographically distant but loving relationship between William and Agnes and the way it has been lived with the time by the two protagonists. A very modern one!

Highly recommended.

I thank Giunti Editore for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

 

Of Course by Jacqueline Pirtle

 Of Course

Because Why Wait....A 90 Day Journal Extended Edition -  there is also the 30 Day Journal edition - is the newest book by Jacqueline Pirtle.

Let's reaffirm that we are in this Planet for also enjoying the time spent here, because we are important human being, OF COURSE!

We must repeat these words, Of Course as a mantra in a daily base, because it's vital. It's not important the reason why you will repeat it, but it will stimulate yourself at changing attitude regarding a sad fact "Of course, it shall pass soon" a quality you have, "Of course I know what to do" and always, tenderly, loving you for who you are.

We live in a complicated world, and sometimes the various Of Course becomes discouraging mantra "Of course I won't receive that work", "Of course people won't believe in me" etc etc. This journal will give you important advices for, first of all changing the way you see yourself, becoming a positive Ofcourser! 

Remember that "Of course life love you!" and where in doubt,.... choose happiness! and everything will become more simple and clear.

Highly recommended self-help book.

I thank Jacqueline Pirtle for the copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Passé Composé by Anne Sinclair

 Passé Composé

by Anne Sinclair is a new book released by Chez Grasset.

What, at first I noticed reading this book, is the original writing-style of this beloved french journalist and writer. 

She tells her life-story not just putting all herself in the tale but in certain cases using a compulsive writing-style for not forget anything and for adding, where possible, more informations. 

Anne was born in a wealthy family but she remained a lonely child. For this reason her parents over-protected her and she was set free only when adult. Her dad was an important man of Elizabeth Arden and Revlon: her mother was more hard than her father, and plus she didn't like to read, an activity that captivated little Anne with all herself. The discovery of journalism was a casualty, in particular the branch of reportage; once, his father afforded for business in Algeria when there were important turmoils: he returned home safe, after two days: in the while, her mother and her listened to the radio what was going on. It was in that moments, still little, still maybe confused by life, that Anne developed the idea of becoming a journalist.

Passionate of policy, she studied the field, knocking at many doors: sometimes people asked her of writing down two lines for introducing herself, without receive any answer.

Anne, anyway, with the time became an affirmed journalist and more or less she has met all the most important men of the Planet. Gorbacev, several American Presidents: Clinton was charismatic, Hillary an intelligent woman: our Berlusoni invited her in his beautiful italian mansion close to Milan. Great evening, great dinner till at the moment in which she asked him something that upset the politician. She would have re-met Berlusconi when Obama became President of the USA, and during an important meeting: Berlusconi was speaking too loudly and Queen Elizabeth asked him why he was doing that.

Alain Delon after all is not all that nice, but Jean-Paul Belmondo is enchanting, Jeanne Mureau the actresss of th classic Jules & Jim an interesting soul. 

Being of Jewish origins, Anne wrote several books reconstructing the existences of her ancestors and more, she has precise ideas regarding politicians she doesn't want to have anything to do with. One of them is Le Pen. She wouldn't want to interview her at all and,always in her book she tells that someone asked her if she wanted to interview Saddam Hussein. We were during th First Gulf War: I remember that an italian journalist interviewed the dictator. Sinclair tells that she refused althought it could have been a scoop, but preferred to avoid it.

A chapter reconstruct the affair Strauss-Khan considering that they were married. The scandal: it seemed that the politician wanted to have a sexual intercourse with a worker of an hotel located in New York: was it something orchestrated for avoiding the victory of the politician at the presidentials? No one can knows it, but Anne tells that she lived pretty heavy moments, with reporters and photo-journalists everywhere and of course was certasin of his man's innocence. After this story the marriage ended and now Anne is happy with another man.

Beautiful memoir. Highly recommended.

I thank Editions Grasset for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Per Amore Solo per Amore by Pasquale Festa Campanile

 It was a torrid night when I went downstairs for spending some time refreshing body and mind in our living room. I opened the window, I prepared a fresh lemonade with some ice and while I was sat in the sofa I looked with attention at my books, I had forgotten the review copies upstairs and I wanted to read something: I spotted Per Amore solo Per Amore

by Pasquale Festa Campanile. I had bought this book in 1983 but never read it. Maybe it was time of giving a chance to it.

The human history of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Wow, what a serious account of what it was!  without any kind of miracles inside. 

I found the book beautiful and...let me add this: in our religion there are many mysteries and dogmatic truths; if the story would have been this one it would have been maybe more real satisfying and...candid and intense; in this natural and mortal story I find a wonderful power of love, friendship, acceptance of other exigencies and of a son that hasn't been conceived with the...husband. 

To me it would have been maybe more satisfying, because there is humanity, also when Mary refuses any carnal contact for a sexual important blockage, caused maybe by a violence or an error committed that the girl can not forgive.

Said this, the story starts portraying Joseph, a beautiful man of 18 years, as someone who enjoyed to spend time with the girls of the town; just a kiss, or a smile to all the girls of the town: being a handsome man he was adored by these girls; he went to bed, for reasons that are understandables, just with a widow. This widow was under the attention of one of the half-brothers of Joseph who would have wanted to marry her: there was a violent discussion with Joseph, who, after all this drama, left for good. His father donated him a lot of money and Joseph started a new life with Natan and another man in Nazareth.

He knew Mary pretty soon; the girl was just 8 years old and for two years or so, spent most of the time in Joseph's carpentry. Intelligent, brilliant, genuine and candid, Joseph, Natan and everyone else appreciated and loved her. 

At that time these kids became women pretty soon and close to the age of 10 years Mary started to live under the wings of his relatives. There is no mention of his parents; she grew up with a judge, Cleofa, her uncle, and her aunt. 

Joseph, in the while, had bought a horse; a privilege of few people: he loved with it to afford in a distant city for having some sexual intercourses with some women.

He had also a sexual relationship with another widow in Nazareth, but he will lose soon interest for the widow and the distant, exotic women when he will meet one day Mary again, falling in love. Mary in the while, bloomed, becoming a beautiful girl, in fact.

Mary reciprocates the feelings felt by Joseph and soon they are engaged. One day Mary tells to Joseph that she must leaves him alone because her aunt Elizabeth is pregnant: an unexpected pregnancy this one, because the lady is pretty old and no one would have believed possible that she would have had a baby; not anymore. Being old people, she would have helped during that first months.

Joseph doesn't agree but there is nothing to do; Mary's independance (in a period in which women were "slaves" of men) wins. 

Mary leaves and she stays away at long. 

Once returned, in the family of Cleofa there is profound sadness and people cry all the time.  

Joseph can't see Mary, and he doesn't understand the reason: soon he discovers that her girlfriend is pregnant. Joseph is devastated. Who has been the man guilty of this action? Mary agreed? Was it a carnal violence? 

He searched for a possible responsible everywhere; he won't never obtain an answer from Mary, but, during all their weddings there has always been, not just the sexual blockage of Mary, but also the refusal of the girl of telling to him anything of this story.

Recrimination will be many with the time, although Joseph tried all his best, seeing the positive side of the story.

Yes, Jesus was born when they travelled; the stable was the one of his half-brother. Close to the house of the half brother of Joseph lived several pastors, and they soon reached Joseph, bringing them something to eat and drink, welcoming back again Joseph: there was also a woman called as obstetrician. 

In this group of people there was also someone else who had to give to Joseph some money for previous works done when he still lived at his father's house; Joseph knew that that money was lost, but the man saved his existence, the one of Mary and Jesus in particular, because he had discovered that Erode wanted to kill all the children under 2 years of age because old and annoyed.

Joseph and Mary decide to go to Egypt and they stay there for 8 years; once returned Joseph wasn't more rich or wealthy at all, and the sexual problems with Mary were still persisting.

Jesus was a wild boy; he loved the last ones in terms of animals and people; more miserables were people and more profound was his respect, adorantion and love for them: he brought home injured animals, and people living in the marginality of the world, trying to better their existence, but, first of all, accepting them and their nature: he was a revolutionary, as most of Jewish are: that's why they are also so fascinating: he wanted to change the scriptures as well!

He had discovered several people who, for a reason or another lived in the streets and the tale of what happened with these six individuals is absolutely enchanting; Joseph was a bit worried for the eccentricities of this son; these friends could not bring him anywhere; he needed to establish good relationship and friendships with people and contemporaries of a certain importance; Joseph was a known carpenter; there wouldn't been problems: maybe Joseph didn't know that Jesus was friend also with children of wealthy people because he had a big capacity of making constantly new friends: wealthy kids enjoyed to spending time with him, because they knew that the experience would have been unique in the genre.

Mary and Joseph had frequent frictions in particular when, one day, Mary told to Joseph that his son would have had a wonderful existence; Joseph thought that maybe Mary had had a sexual intercourse with someone very rich or wealthy and didn't want to tell him, but imagined, for this reason, a radiant future for her son.

Sometimes, when he was more mentally wake, Joseph asked to Natan his helper if he had guessed who could have been the father of Jesus, but Natan told him that he didn't have any clue.

It was a common family, after all the one of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, with their own little or big crosses and the tensions caused by questions without answers.

Mary has never slept in the bed with his spouse; she did it only when he was paralyzed and close to the end. Joseph died in fact prematurely for a paralysis.

I didn't know all these facts and I was so happy to discover the human touch of the Holy Family.

Anna Maria Polidori

Loin, à l'Ouest by Delphine Coulin

 Loin, à l'Ouest

is the latest book by Delphine Coulin. It will be published this August 18th chez Grasset in France: it is a beautiful saga, the story of a bunch of women, where the predominant character is, without doubts, Georgette, born Georges.

I immediately loved Georges's character! 

Her mother, a matriachal family of great dress-makers, decided to call the baby Georges for homaging George Sand, adding, also an "s" for presenting, to this new creature arrived in the world, a masculine touch.

And Georges is all of it: indomitable, fearless, wild as the wind can be, she has been powerfully present and precocius in...everything; a sad event will change her destiny, for this reason she promised to herself of not marry anyone once adult. 

But, once grown up she meets a guy, Vincent, beautiful like the sun and succumb. 

In that moment in France women fight thanks to Louise Michel for obtain same equal rights: work, family, independance. 

Vincent doesn't agree. 

He wants less freedom for her woman. 

Georges suffers a lot. 

The first World War starts and problems will be sorted out in a way and in another.

Free from the chains of a devastating marriage and a horrible man, childless, Georges meets a wonderful man in Abraham a jewish from Polland, married, with three children. An intense story, the marriage of Abraham/Albert once discovered by the wife is gone soon: his wife in fact, decides to leave for other adventures with their children. 

Abraham and Georges are extremely happy together, but the wild wind of the Nazi dictatorship reaches France. They have a beautiful house, they have several magasins, and where possible Albert expands much more the activity: they are proud parents of a tender, intelligent kid, called Serge. The war changes again the cards on the table of the life: Serge, in war is captured and imprisoned by the enemy, and Abraham/Albert will end in the camp of Auschwitz. 

Georgette didn't imagine that his son had a flame in Lucie. Lucie will be the biggest enemy of Georgette for the rest of her existence. She became, once returned home from the camp, in fact, the wife of Serge, and the one who would have in every occasion and instant, criticized Georgette. 

Serge devastated by the war won't never return to be as the old one seen before; he is closed in himself and he doesn't want to speak of what seen or experienced; what he would want is his old richness, a condition that her mother can't present him anymore because the war has deleted who they had been, forever. Serge becomes cold with the mother. His dreams are destroyed by the war, poverty, starting to live a fatalistic existence, pretty passive. 

Just few things adds enthusiasm in his existence.

His relationship with the mother becomes everyday more tense and acrimonious.

The old business created before the second world war re-starts with success. Georgette in the while changes companions several times, being attached by Serge and Lucie, because of this freedom of customs and because she sounds different from the rest of women.

Serge and Lucie has had a daughter, Solange, very beauty; everyone fall in love for her, but...Errors will be committed because of love by Solange as well and she will live straining moments. 

Maybe Solange, of all these women, Georgette apart, born with the freedom in her soul, will be the only one who will be in grade to create real happiness, chosing her own destiny at some point, without any kind of external ingerency, or the phantom of a distant past.

She has two daughters, Aurelia and Octavie. Octavie will be the one who will try to re-connect these generations of proud, mysterious women where a sort of sin, shame, disgrace, accompanied their existences.

Georgette and Serge at some point will become like two strangers in particular when the son wants to sell the Isba, the house where Georgette lived beautiful moments with Abraham/Albert; a sanctuary of her existence, where she loves to keep her more precious dresses, items, objects of the belle epoque experienced when her life was more simple: before that an irrational war would have destroyed all her dreams. 

Yes, Georgette has been strong: for herself, for the rest of her family: she didn't complain and she worked and lived with what she had at the moment, in the present without looking too much to the past: sure she has a touch of melancholy that keeps just for herself and the privacy of her house and rooms. It is...private. And it is closed to the eyes of strangers or other family members.

Lucie, the so-called belle-fille hasn't never realistically wanted to understand the extraordinary character that Georgette was, seeing, what to her morality, were the errors and sins of Serge's mother.

Lucie is a disgusting character because, to my point of view, if Serge became such a negative person, is also thanks to her massive influence. And she will be, thanks to her behavior, the loneliest character of this book, hated by her daughter, by Georgette, because of her negativity, because of her intransigent touch, without signs of tenderness or understanding, but searching, constantly searching for discussions, and the possibility of putting hate in the various family-members. 

 

Georgette as you will discover soon in the book is fascinated by Calamity Jane and a show she has seen once arrived in the West of France, with some part of the family once a disgrace abruptly broke the daily order of things: this legendary character will be the biggest inspiration for a wild temperament like the one of Georgette is.

This one is an unputtable down book. Characters are built magistrally well, the reading is extremely captivating and interesting presenting us three century of a family-story.

Highly recommended.

I thank Grasset for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

 

The Belle Epoque A Cultural History, Paris and Beyond by Dominique Kalifa

 The Belle Epoque

A Cultural History, Paris and Beyond by Dominique Kalifa is an exciting new book published by Columbia Press. 

The topic, no sure for you, is one of my favorite ones: the Belle Epoque, a cultural moment experienced in Paris, pretty fertile, where richness became more extended, and where there was the possibility for everyone of enjoying the beauty of a capital like Paris: Paris became a city democratically great for rich and poor, and if you were an artist, someone creative, the best place you could live in. 

Started historically in 1889, when there were also the celebrations for the first centenary of the French Revolution, this one was an historical moment pretty happy and creative.

Paris: still without cars, where people tended to cultivate plants of every sorta and where there was a genuine friendship; where the Moulin Rouge, created that years, had a completely different touch; a calm plenty of expectations but, also, a city that lived in perfect harmony with the rest of the world. 

The Exposition of 1900 counted more than 50 million of visitors; 1900 meant for France a new re-start after the Dreyfus affair.

Someone wrote somewhere that also when people were poor was possible to live in a city like Paris; Paris was at that time the place where everyone would have wanted to be; a place plenty of expectations with a positivistic approach; Paris was looking directly to the future; there was the perception of the future; a future, and a century, the XXth one that had to be without wars, but that, differently, was in war most of the time, with horrible conclusions.

The expression Belle Epoque, that it is now commonly used for characterizing, not only in France, but also in other countries, a stellar, pacific moment of a certain country, (another expression could be Gilded Age) has been created only later. 

No one in France, tried to define the end of the XIX century or the beginning of 1900. People continued to live without the perception that this one was an exceptional historical moment. 

Writers published remarkable books, I name Proust for everyone and there was an immense cultural fertility.

But...When the Belle Epoque ended?

It is difficult to define the end of a good historical period, but everyone mark a psychological date: the 1914 and the entrance in war: that year meant the end of the lightness breathed since there: the horror of the war, with its heaviness, replaced the past years, the pandemic flu and what had been seen by people, made a difference in negative.

The moments immediately after the first world war for sure were not conceived by people like a state of a new pre-war, but were lived with more uncertainty because the world wasn't in a great state and things were becoming every day more difficult and unpleasant. The enchantment experienced at the end of the XIXth century and the beginning of the XXth century was over. People grew up mentally, there was great sufferance and nothing was anymore like before: that state of beatitude and innocence experienced before was over. Forever.

Then, when time passed by, when the horror of two world wars and a pandemic flu changed the world, someone defined the period lived in Paris before these devastastating experiences calling it La Belle Epoque: being an attractive topic, people who lived during that years published a lot of memoirs on the topic: there was also who wrote that the Belle Epoque was an hypocrital moment in the history of France, plenty of contradictions.

For sure in the Belle Epoque there was relaxation, but also dances, parties, people were cheerful, and happy. A state of mind, this one, after a long period of crisis, that was re-created, paradoxically when Paris was occupied by Nazis.

Immediately after the first world war in France the production of movies fell dramatically, and foreign productions, with new emerging actors, like Rodolfo Valentino, became real stars for the people.

Who lived the Belle Epoque missed and missed and missed so badly that years. In the present there were lost friends, there was the perception that the sweetness of life was over forever, because the Belle Epoque incapsulated all together these three elements: a place, a time and a society.

The cinema tried all his best, later, in the 1950s, putting on the big screen an idea of 1900, thanks also to the works of Maupassant, Colette, the stories of Arsène Lupin.

After all paying a tribute at that first decades of the XX century meant also paying a tribute to that infant cinema. Differently, the other decades of the century focused on trasgressions of every sorta: a new conception of the Belle Epoque was borning.

It is the case of Jules et Jim by Francois Truffaut sets in Paris in 1912.

While cinema tried to re-define the role of the Belle Epoque, time passed by and most iconic places known during the Belle Epoque were destroyed for the creation of more spaces for always new citizens.

The myth of the Belle Epoque, although partially "killed" by the immense problematics brought by the two world wars and the exigencies of a city under construction, returned with prepotency thanks to wagons of pictorial books, micro-stories sets in different parts and cities of France, and Brussels Publisher became the specialist of this genre.

The Belle Epoque was splendid and magnificient just for a little portion of people in the proper sense of the word, and not for the masses, but...

But...That one has been a positive period for everyone. 

And what a nostalgia. 

Dorgelès wrote that "The only past that counts is the living past, which is transformed along with us." 

The Belle Epoque, writes Kalifa, "Truly exists because we have needed it;" yes because it was an age of security and writing security we want to add that people lived peacefully and pleasantly well in this world.

This last work by Kalifa is a tribute to a city and its more magnificient historical period. Beautiful, written with heart and competency, this one is a complete portrait of the Belle Epoque: I am sure you'll love so badly, as I did. 

And now some words on Dominque Kalifa. I had also previously read and reviewed Vice, Crime and Poverty always published by Columbia Press. I discovered in the website of Columbia that Kalifa died just a year ago.

In the postcript by Venita Datta: "For those of us who were fond of Dominique Kalifa, our Belle Epoque is located in a Paris of the recent past, in which we share lively conversations with our friend in his graduate seminar at the Sorbonne, in cafés, in his house around the dinner table, and finally in his oeuvre, in which the true history of the Belle Epoque lives on."

Highly recommended book.

I thank Columbia University Press for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Patches Of Sunlight, Or Of Shadow Safeguarded Notes 1952–2005 by Philippe Jaccottet Translated by John Taylor

 Patches Of Sunlight, Or Of Shadow Safeguarded Notes 1952–2005

by Philippe Jaccottet Translated by John Taylor is a new book by Seagull. 

In this new work there are the impressions on reality of the beloved poet and writer spanning from 1952-2005, starting with the observation that he composed thirdy school notebooks, with the intimate desire of destroying them lately, because, Philippe thought, once dead he would have avoided in this way the publication of material too repetitive.

Said this, Philippe Jaccottet throught, that, after all it would have been great the publication of all that notes considered more interesting.

We start with 1952 with observations on wars in the world, and the big answer: why? Her wife in the while is lived as "the fragility of the membrane separating us, protecting us from terror, tortures, crimes." 

This first lines taken by Cowper Powys's novel became his mantra. It says: "There are moments in almost everyone’s life when events occur in a special and curious manner . . . Another peculiarity of these moments is a sensation as if there were a spiritual screen, made of a material far more impenetrable than adamant, between our existing world of forms and impressions and some other world, and as if this screen had suddenly grown extremely thin".

Poetry should be a lamp, lighting our heart, without feeling competition with the bright stars in the sky.

After a long life....

"Often so little remains,and one doesn’t know which ones

were vain, which ones burn like wax in the heart

and are carried from place to place, a procession of

glassware, nightlights, constellations of long-lost things

that will still shine in the confused thoughts of the

old man."

If nature is the central thematic after all of the first years, in 1964 a reading inspires the poet on spirituality, soul, dualism of the world, analyzing our system of living.

There are chapters where he treats the departures of beloved relatives, and his mother's death as well; death is a sort of leit motiv for the poet but there are also  reflections on the human nature and conditions.

Highly recommended book.

I thank Seagull Press for the copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

An Island at War by Deborah Carr

 An Island at War

by Deborah Carr is a new book published by Harper & Collins telling us, magistrally well the thematic of war: in this case the latest world war conflict, and the consequences that had on a family of people living in the Channel Islands. Inspired by the real facts experienced by the relatives of Deborah Carr, in this book there is a mixture of diaries entries and real life.

The story starts when Rosie is sent to the UK and Estelle Le Maistre remains in Jersey for assisting her old grand-mother: the grand mother had a farm and hands were indispensbile in a daily base for chores. 

In London aunt Muriel in the while, at a depressed and "lost" Rosie donates a journal, thinking that maybe it would be helpful in a moment so stressing to her, because distant from her family.

The purpose of this notebook the one of writing down every possible thought of her Londoner's existence, for later sharing it with her sister Estelle and the rest of her family.

Devastated from a tragedy in their family, Rosie will write down her first important thoughts....

Estelle must undertands pretty soon the new important guidelines brought by the war.

Every part of their existence was severely altered by the war.

Two different perspectives: the one of Rosie, in London, in the capital, missing of course the countryside and the one of Estelle in a farm surrounded by nature, animals, trees. The perfect portrait of war, as we knew very well. While I was reading this book I thought in fact at the existence spent by my aunt Adriana in the center of Rome, while the rest of the family lived in our area, a countryside. I discovered a lot of similarities.

Beautiful.

I thank Harper & Collins and Netgalley for having suggested me this book by Deborah Carr.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Bragging Because You are Worth of It a 90 Days Journal by Jacqueline Pirtle

 Bragging Because You are Worth of It a

90 Days

Journal by Jacqueline Pirtle is a new, stimulating and passionate trip in the immensity of our self and why it is so important to brag ourselves, celebrating and never diminishing our persons in this world. Why bragging ourselves? Jacqueline writes that "Bragging helps you to overcome your old habits of selling yourself short while inspiring you to dream big, then even bigger, and to feel your own personal power everywhere and at anytime inviting you to go for the best of the best at all times."

Feeling pride for ourselves, sharing our big or little dreams with others, creating our own unique mark in this world is something that you MUST do in a daily base, or maybe, as writes somewhere Jacqueline, every second, because, simply, you are important, your story matters, your soul is wonderful and sharing pride, sharing your own self with the universe is the best thing to do. Put enthusiasm in doing this and you'll see that positivity will stay always close to you! 

Every journal of Jacqueline is enchanting and unique, transmitting positive vibes in every page. 

Highly recommended.

I thank Jacqueline Pirtle for the copy of the book 📙.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Sette Riti di Bellezza Giapponese by Elodie-Joy Jaubert

 A revelation this book Sette Riti di Bellezza Giapponese

by Elodie-Joy Jaubert parisienne illustrator and blogger.

It is a trip, this one, in the secrets of beauty of Japanese women, famous for their wonderful skin, always pretty cured, and treated, because of a common custom as a relic. Preserved magically well from the signs of time, japanese women in general don't tend to have a frustrated and tired skin as western women have: why this? Sure, a diet rich of fish, and a powerful anti-oxydant like green tea drunk in every possible way, are great! allied; plus...Japanese women tend to spend every day precious moments just for themselves, for taking good care of their skin, their eyes, their oval, so that it will remain beauty and graceful. This secret of beauty is called in english layering: it's a series of treatments that, in a daily base will keep and preserve your skin from the sign of the time and various kind of pollution as well. With these treatments your skin will appear wonderfully cured and you will act graciously and preciously for preserving yourself and the state of your skin at its best.

In this book all the advices for a wonderful skin and, also, for stunning hair.

Richly illustrated, the book is informative, very well done and thought.

thank Sonzogno for the physical copy of the book.

Highly recommended.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Jewish Cock by Katharina Volckmer translated by Pierre Demarty

  Intense book Jewish Cock

by Katharina Volckmer translated by Pierre Demarty this August 28th chez Grasset. At the end of this little book Katharina will thank a certain Joachim because he introduced her ar the perfect french writing-style.

Pretty absorbing and dense, this one is a monologue long 180 pages between a German girl and Dr. Seligman. The results? Well, like all the monologues, it spaces in different directions:being born in Germany there is a great obsession for Hitler, and for example in the passage that you can find at page 38 she will tell to the doctor: "Un Juif vivant, c'est quelque chose de diaboloquement excitant pour un Allemande, un phénomène auquel personne ne nous a préparés durant notre enfance." Later she underlines how no one will think that a Jew can be a taxi-driver, but, considering the distinguished people seen, someone important.

The girl lives in London at the moment although she is obsessed by the past, the years of the Shoah.

At the same time, describing pretty vividly sexual behaviors, she meets along her way interesting people who marked her existence: M.Shimada, the creator of sex toys, or mr.K, a married man with which she started to have sex in public toilets with extreme excitement, although, while she was having sex with K. she couldn't help herself, if not thinking at her father and his love for her mother, his devotion, his being constantly there for the family; in love for K. she tries to define the expression "making love" thinking that, no, it is impossible this expression, it is not correct, because...How can we define the idea of giving, with that words, meaning to profound feelings like the one that bring a man and a woman together?

She imagines dr.Seligman, her listener, a good man with a wife, his children, oh, someone who, like his father is unable of committing big errors, someone who hasn't been for sure taken by the trendy idea of plastic surgery at all: dr. Seligman doesn't have a kind of glamour; he is someone normal in his simplicity, maybe boring for someone like our young girl.

What is solitude, if not an existential condition pretty known by the girl, maybe, the sign of the original sin? 

Oh, but for sure, dr.Seligman doesn't know the solitude: she is different from him and his being calm and simple; she is like a kind of deforminity, a monster invented by the pen of some contemporary authors, someone, a girl, who capture, eat, absorb the happiness of other people, resulting at the end a repugnant, corroded pigeon.

After all, she has been intrigued also by a girl, Helen: Hellen called her Bambi... and again returns her  obsession for Hitler but also the fear of an hypothetic Third World War and her obsession for chocolate for trying to avoid this possibility, imagining that chocolate would protect her against the maleficient bomb. 

There are words also on cinema and star-system: She doesn't think she would find comfort as a lot of unknown people do, putting posters of idols in the bedroom.

K. is a guy who to her means a lot; although in great confidence with him they haven't never shared any kind of fear...The fear of the night, or other ones as well, because as remarks the girl fears are intimate feelings too personals for being shared: K. loves theather, but not his wife and he suffers for this reason; there are described the sexual intercourse between the two and the fantasies he had. One day, looking at a picture of K.'s wife, she noticed the same attitude of Helen: living well their being women.

If she would ask for a plastic surgery, she would ask for keeping silenced the muscles of her face, putting an end at that industry of happiness.

The Holocaust could be resolved to her only falling in love for a Jew. She starts to see some perversions at some point also in the perfect dr.Seligman, adding later consideration on God, a father but also someone pretty... carnal: after all what she is searching is sex, because the idea of staying with someone, terrifies her.

Her mother, is so perfect, so classy: she is becoming like her: she loves to repeat concepts, exactly as her mother does.

Religion is like an obsession and returns the comparison: catholicism versus Judaism, with their differences and cult, a cult the catholic one explained analyzing it through her parents's eyes.

Complex, a revealing book, pretty dark, but after all, in this conversation there is the naked, exposed, sincere soul of a person. Maybe it would be the same hearing from other unknown people their life-story because each of us have demons, difficulties, joys, happinesses and precise ideas on religiom, policy, society.

Highly recommended.

I thank Grasset for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori