L'amore 💕 ai Tempi dell'odio by Florian Illies

Strange years the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1960s in Berlin. Years where, for the most known people, artists, scientists, actors, painters, was tremendously important living the moment. 

Francis Scott and Zelda, but also the entire family Mann, (I didn't imagine that that family was so complicated!) Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalì, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre with their romantic free love, the members of the Bahuaus, Marlene Dietrich and her complicated sexuality, Wittgenstein, (with a lot of sexual problems in his case) are symbols of an age where the menage a trois was the normality.

That ones, in Berlin, were weird years: they were the years of hate: why this word? Because new dangerous men approached the political scene: Hitler reached the power. Many started to follow his perverted ideas. So, love, sex, feelings, sentiments, became more important for all these people: because in the confusion love and sex could give back that normality. Or a normality that no one could realistically understand when it would be...over. 

1932 has been the last year of freedom for most of them: then most they emigrated, or better, escaped in different countries. We will discover that the Manns were devastated by this entire story of forced emigration: some fell in misery; other ones emigrating found great chances for new  beginnings in the USA, or in Europe, other ones will prefer to kill themselves. 

There are not just people of Germany in L' Amore ai Tempi dell'Odio:

Florian Illies portrays also the story of the sanguinary Stalin, who killed more than 20 million of people starting with his own family, under many ways. His wife killed herself like, later, his daughter; then, Stalin started an affair with the wife of a brother of his poor wife, and later in 1938, all the family of his ex wife, lover included were exterminated.

Francis Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, if spent beautiful years in the USA, a golden couple for sure, in Europe discovered a lot of sadness and unhappiness. Zelda was frequently hallucinated and spent a lot of time in psichiatric hospitals; Francis Scott drunk too much... Although I think that their daughter spent some straining moments, she has been lucky in her existence, had four children! and lived a more tranquil existence if compared to the one of his parents. 

Magnus Hirschfeld studied sexuology. Gay, Jewish, the Nazis will destroy the Institute where he worked in, and Magnus, with two companions, understandood that he had lost everything...

Francis Scott will always love Zelda. In a moving letter to a friend he will write that he would want to share with her a grave as well. A comforting idea  because Zelda has been the person, the creature more close to him in that existence. It happened. 

Bertold Brecht was a man extremely active sexually; Hermann Hesse, reading this book a myth has been in part destroyed, had a particular character. I don't want to spoil too much.

It is not forgotten the life-story of Ernst Junger and the ones of many many other characters. 

Beautiful. It will let you think, it will be inspiration for reading still unread books, or for watching a good old movies. Florian Illies remains one of the most spectacular writers of our times. He created again another literary gem.

I thank Marsilio for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Sur la Non-Violence et le patriotisme by Leon Tolstoï

 What a straining, horrible moment is this one. 

Two European countries are in war for who knows which reason: forget what politicians are telling: we have million of Ukrainian refugees dispersed in the entire Europe, leaving, most of them forever, their country because of the brutality of an unwanted war, let me underline it by Ukrainians and Russians folk, but terribly desired for economical reasons by the several statesmen involved: I have friends and connections in many countries, including Moldavia, Ukraine, Polland, Russia, Romania, Ungheria! The past few weeks artists, books, minds of Russia became undesired  and if not banned, not anymore recommended because Europe, USA, are supporting Ukraine. 

I don't mind what it is the current thinking: I will continue to give voice to Russian literature: a country, the Russian one that has constantly suffered. Tzars, and then the Communism; folk that knows the word sacrifice and starvation but also kindness, generosity, compassion. 

I hadn't never lived in an atmosphere so horrible, so senseless, like the one of these past weeks: I started to cry just thinking at what my Ukrainians and Russian friends were saying me: we are all brothers, we don't want it. And they repeat it. 

We hadn't never experienced in our existence spent in peace, what it meant the day before great friendship, with a State, and the day after a total blame of its culture and people.

And, plus, what scare to death is that in a war,  people, folk can't say anything and can't do anything, apart saving their own existences.

A pandemic is trongly different in this sense. There is freedom: you know the guidelines...Masks, cleaning hands often, social distancing, where possibly less social life, if you mind. If people don't mind they can chose of catching the virus, but, again, it's up to you, your work, habits, values...But it's up to you and in general, all of us.

A war is another planet, because this senseless horror can't be interrupted by people but only by the ones who have wanted it, the CEOS of the countries involved. And there is a strong difference of vision. Common people, masses don't want it.

I thought that in a moment like this one, (apart our Bishop of Rome, Francesco, a fantastic human being!) no one was better than Léon Tolstoï for giving us words of light and for clarifying concepts strongly important. Thanks to a little book that I requested to L'Editions de L'Herne Sur la Non-Violence et le Patriotisme

the bright ideas of the popular, wonderful author of War and Peace are well explained in several letters, a quick exchange with Gandhi, in a letter to a revolutionary, but also in two articles.

Leon is a fine connaisseur of the human nature and its corruption, depravation and understood pretty well the big peril hidden by a culture, the european one, apparently christian.

So which are the biggest enemies of the modern man of the XX century? Although we are christians and Leon underlines this fact a lot of times in his writings, men live of superstitions. Which are the most dangerous ones? The superstition of the Church, of the State, Science, but also superstitions of organization, patriotism (the most important one),  art, progress, socialism.

Why a State is armed? For not obey, writes Tolstoi. Only for this reason. Is it possible to eliminate wars? Because as Leon writes, we can find everywhere that black point where a war can starts: the answer is yes. 

Yes: there is a way.

Killing the patriotism. 

Difficult to realize, true?

Patriotism is not a feeling felt without a reason: there is someone who had inoculated it to children, later adults.

Why being patriotic would mean put in danger the world?

Patriotism is in grade not to build good relationship between Nations, but to kill good relationship between the various countries: it means very often that a State doesn't want the happiness of a close country. 

Yes, although we have christianity, remarks Tolstoj, in grade of spreading good values in the population, there is nothing to do: also in the XX century we assist at patriotism. 

It is as strong as monuments are: just, writes Leon, with a touch of sadness, monuments remain per centuries there, without create any mess to the society and the community where they are located in. Patriotism is cause of horrible, horrible and disgusting results.

Wars are children of this biggest disvalue and a sea of blood, writes Tolstoj has been shed, and it will continue to be shed if man will continue to cultivate this disvalue.

It's a pity that people who could set masses free from patriotism don't do that.

But...Tostoi thinks: don't we have the christian religion? Doesn't speak of peace and brotherhood? Right: so why do we want to keep alive a vestige of the past and a potential danger for the humanity?

Patriotism is child of a barbarian world, writes Tolstoi and it shouldn't be taught. Other misvalues that should disappear are propaganda and derision.

Tolstoi thinks that no one should search for an enlargement of the country, but maybe, better, a reduction of it. Tolstoi speaks directly of the patriotic past of countries historically plenty of lies, of poems, sermons, popular hymns absolutely stupid.

More we will build a society plenty of patriotism,  underlines the writer, and more we will see countries wanting for more arms, for later ruining the body and souls of entire nations thanks to wars. 

European countries have buried God and christianity giving voice and preferences to patriotism and war. Confucious once wrote that the best thing to do would be the elimination of arms giving the chance to people of earning differently their money, bettering the agriculture and the world, and being loved by people.

Europe has chosen another path: once forgotten Christ, the desire of European statsmen has been the one of finding always new enemies. In a tableau once owned by Guillaume II is represented the archangel Michael who invites all the European "leaders" pictured like brigands wearing arms, for destroying and killing, to hear the messages of sweetness of Buddha and the one of justice of Confucius.

There will always be brigants in Europe, affirms strongly Tolstoi till at the moment that European governments won't reach a maturity in which they won't start disarm for later embrace a life dedicated to brotherhood.

I don't add other. Tolstoi wrote these words and many other ones, in 1896, 1909-1910 but they seem to have been written today. 

Highly highly recommended book.

I thank L'Editions de l'Herne for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

The Long Year a 2020 Reader Edited by Thomas J.Sugrue and Caitlin Zaloom

 The Long Year a 2020 Reader Edited by Thomas J.Sugrue and Caitlin Zaloom

, new book of the Public Book Series is about a year of changing. There are years that changed the world, true. 

1789: the French Revolution, 1929: the economical crisis, 1989: the fall of Communism. 

2020 with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic revealed intense problematics in the world.  Racism exploded, inequalities of various genre emerged, like also an economical crisis never seen before.

In these short writings the thinkers will expose with solid argumentations a year that was remarkably complicated, trying  to avoid another breakdown.

Highly recommended book.

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

Anna Maria Polidori 

A Volte Basta un Gatto by Saki Murayama

 A Volte Basta un Gatto

by Saki Murayama published by Garzanti is without any doubt one of the most poetic japanese books I read recently.

Touching, plenty of good vibes, and dreams, I think that every reader will find reason for a reflection on the thematics of dreams and peace and expectations and miracles and a best life. 

Kazahaya is a fictional place located close to Nagasaki where the second atomic bomb was launched by the Americans causing a destruction never seen before in the world.

It's a pretty dear theme this one to the author, who remarks the destruction of the war, and the following rebirth: cherry trees in bloom give us back a sensation of peace, where in a past still recent there has been a hand who had destroyed all the beauty of that corner of the world. The Hoshino is a pretty classic warehouse wanted by a man who had the desire to donate to people with the creation of this reality, a new rebirth. All workers are treated very well, and the meals at the Hoshino are delicious, because these moments are sacred for the leaders of the Hoshino and can't be put in discussion.

In this dreaming place, we assist at the first impressive story, the one of Isana, one of the girls of the elevators and at a thematic, dear to Japanese people: the possibility of fixing, restoring broken objects. In this case it will be a burned teddy bear. Resolving a massive problem like the one of this teddy bear under many ways means, passing through the object, healing the person and its wound. 

In the middle of  the story for Isana there is the legend of a white kitten and the big whale flying in the sky. 

A legend wants that in the warehouse there is a completely white kitten with two different eyes: he is little and appears to the people in need. Each of the people in that warehouse try to find the white kitten because each of them wants a miracle, some certainties, or a splash in the past, or in the future. As all the kittens of this world, the white one, celebrated also in a beautiful portrait, will appear when indispensible chosing carefully the person.

The story of this kitten started during the last World War: it is a celebration of a soul and body, the one of the little kitten that lost the existence after that some bombs fell close to Nagasaki. It's the celebration of friendship and love of some children, including the founder of the Hoshino warehouse for this kitten, his body, and the dreams that they dispersed when they buried his ashes.

Through the decades this little kitten under the semblances of dead people, appeared for reassuring,  resolving, realizing the dreams of people.

It's an indispensible reading this one. For everyone. Highly recommended.

I thank Garzanti for the copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Patterns - Discover What You Need To Know! Simple Step-By-Step Guide! by Magnus D’Jango

 Crochet Granny Square Patterns - Discover What You Need To Know!

Simple Step-By-Ste

p Guide! by Magnus D’Jango is the best book for you,. Chrochet is a great way for being absorbed by something else, for relaxing mind and body and for create something with your hands. Granny squares are typical processes known in crocheting for the creation of beautiful clothing pieces, accessories, decor. You will select colors, shape...It could be a triangle, a diamond, rectangles, circles. 

In general people start crocheting as a hobby, but it could also become a wonderful creative process with the time, There is also who try to search thanks to crochet of earning some extra-money. For sure crocheting means, preparing, creating, adoring what you will do and share or sell or present to friends or family members. 

What can you create crocheting? Afghans, purses, baby items, baby clothes, adult clothing,

jewelry, home decor. Substantially, everything. 

So, enjoy the book and happy crocheting!

Anna Maria Polidori 

Crochet Granny Squares, Crochet Granny Square Patterns by Magnus D'jango

 Crochet Granny Squares, Crochet Granny

Square Patterns by Magnus D'jango is a new book on crochet. 

What is a granny square? A granny square is typically a square that is started by crocheting from the center and

working around, and then working the edges into a square form. 

If you want so to discover everything on this art considering that there are many variations of the most common granny square, this book is for you!

Anna Maria Polidori 

Misè Misè 11 Contes Ivoiriens de la Comoè by Camille Lavoix and Vyara Boyadjieva

Misè Misè 11 Contes Ivoiriens de la Comoè by Camille Lavoix and Vyara Boyadjieva

is a new children's book published by La Joie de Lire. Richly and wonderfully illustrated, it focuses the attention on the oral tradition of that sunny corner of the world, Kakpin in particular, reporting  legends and fairy-tales that people love to tell orally to each other: they are extremely important and it is an universe that musn't be lost. In particular, these tales involve plants and animals and thanks to these ones we will discover why a certain animal act in a certain way, or why it is mutated with the time. 

Some examples of what you will find? 

Children will discover why hyena cries most of the time, but also why turtles at some point became animals in love for water; there is a funny story of a group of termites involving the daughter of a king and a king who wanted to set himself free of some wood...Maybe the most beautiful one is the fairy-tale of the antilope-cheval and why she is wearing a mask now.

The author of this book is Camilla Lavoix, journalist from the South-West: she collaborates with the BBC and A La Vanguardia, and she writes for Obs, Mediapat, Le Monde.

The illustrator of this book,  Vyara from Bulgaria, studied in Bologna and Cambridge.

Highly recommended children's book.

I thank La Joie de Lire for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori

The Best American Magazine Writing 2021 Edited by Sid Holt Introduction by Clara Jeffery

The Best American Magazine Writing 2021 edited by Sid Holt

Introduction by Clara Jeffery is an iconic book, truly important this year, because the 2021 represents a year of big changes and shocks.

When I received this book the war of Russia against Ukraine wasn't started yet. I think that also 2022 will be highly remembered by the humanity. 

2021 represented for the world the Plague: it was called the Plague Year. A pandemic, the Covid, in the USA killed and is killing more people than in the rest of the Planet:  it was the year in which a President who had left the election tried to remain, with also an assault to the Capitol Hill of his supporters mining the democracy of a State, and letting us discover the fragility of democracies; it was the year of the murder of George Floyd, Minneapolis. Many demonstrations against racial hate still persisting in the USA took place in the entire territory and a new movement blacklivesmatter was born.

Enjoy the reading. You can jump here and there, reading what you appreciate the most. This compilation of articles is a powerful way for reflecting on the problematics of the world and it is, as always, illuminating.

Highly recommended book.

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

Anna Maria Polidori 

Malentendu à Moscou by Simone de Beauvoir

 Malentendu à Moscou

by Simone de Beauvoir, published by L'Editions de L'Herne is a novel on ageing. 

This book has been released only after the departure of the beloved writer. Companion of Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone loved to spend every year with Sartre in Russia in particular at the beginning of the 1960s invited by literary associations.

France and Russia have always had cordials relationships and french language has always been considered by russians their second language, spoken fluently by a large part of the population.

In part auto-biographical, Jean-Paul Sartre was enthusiastic to return to Russia every year living the experience with joy because he had a lover in that land. In this case Beauvoir avoids to tell this,  putting in the story an element maybe of more interest: differentiations of expectations of a navigated couple, during a trip in a distant land in their maturity.

Nicole and André decides of spending some time, a month to Russia, the ex U.R.S.S. One of the children of Andrè, Macha, in fact, is married with a russian man and they live there. At first the couple is thrilled and anxious to visit places and people: later, when Nicole discovers that Andrè, after all, would want to stay more, start a discussion with him opening a sort of internal fracture. 

Nicole in part jealous of the relationship, very good established by Andrè with Macha, at the end will understand the point of view of her husband and vice versa and the couple will continue the existence together. The thematic of ageing is strong and returns continuously: in a chapter Simone will write: "Les Années donnent aux vins leur bouquet, aux meubles leur patine, aux hommes l'expérience et la sagesse" Years donates to the wines their bouquets, to the furniture the patina, to men and women experience and wisdom.

She doesn't see bodies of elderlies people, as Fitzgerald writes once, in destruction. Simone reads the maturity with the lense of a differentiation of points of view and a different living if compared to the youth, but remaining solid: there is respect for ageing, and first of all for a couple united and comforted by the presence of the other one.

Highly recommended book if you want to understand internal and external dynamics of a couple.

I thank L'Editions de l'Herne for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Entre Mes Branches by Nicolas Michel

 I received today two beautiful children's books published by La Joie de Lire, a children's books publishing house located in Suisse. In this first one, Entre Mes Branches

by Nicolas Michel, writer and journalist with an adventurous existence spent in France, and then Finland and Ouganda, it is taken in consideration with great beauty, tenderness and at the same time vigor, the existence of trees. This book wants to introduce to children starting from 6 years, the world of trees. 

Wonderful illustrations close to little phrases written in first person, that must be taken as meditations, let's start to saying that, surely, a tree can't walk, and it doesn't make a lot of noise, but its life on this Earth is populated by many encounters and facts.

A tree is incredibly useful for animals: they can eat some of his fruits, lost during the fall; but children will also discover which animals and birds enjoy to keep company to the tree during  the nights and days: a tree can represents a house for birds, internally or externally; for children, when they build a tree-house! in a large one, or just when they do a picnic organized by their parents under the shadow of a big tree. 

A tree will discover, during its long existence, good and bad weather; sometimes it loses branches or it can be severely damaged: in other cases it can be cut by wood-cutters for keeping people warm or also, for building beautiful ships, the example taken in consideration in the album. 

Being wood synonime of life, a tree will continue to whisper also under other semblances, although, considering the last illustration, maybe no one can fight against the immensity of an ocean with a whale approaching the surface close to a tiny little ship...

Children will understand thanks to this book the harmonic existences created by a tree, and the other animals gravitating close to it or in its branches. 

A tree can be a shadow, a companion, a refugee, a house, a suggestive place: it can presents to the other animals, humans included, a reassuring presence.

If we would read this book with the eye of a tree, we would discover that a tree is a great companion and offer wagons of hospitality to humans, animals and whoever want to spend some good time in its company, withouth asking nothing in return.

Highly recommended children's book.

I thank La Joie de Lire for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Casting Chez le Père Noel by Laetitia Pettini

 Last days, pretty discomforted, I asked to myself, always with a book in every place I go, what I could have pickep up for trying to be more happy and cheerful. I had just received several children's used books, and I decided for a Christmas children's book. If you know me, you know that I love the idea of Christmas everyday of the year.

I just adored this french children's book: Casting Chez le Père Noel.

Written by Laetitia Pettini, this book represents the funniest and sunniest reading that you can search for some great moments of escapism. Laughs will be many!

The story is this one: after more than 426 years of devoted work, Santa Claus decides that it is arrived the moment to take a good vacation from his absorbing work, so the elf Lucien speaking with Rudolph tells him that it is necessary to find a new Pere Noel with an ad....

Celeste and Barnabe are the children of Nicolas Poussin: he has passion for acting but till this moment he hasn't been lucky. So, the children after having read the ad for a new Père Noel, changing it here and there, will create the best condition for let believe to their father that he is waited for a casting.

Oh, what a joy if their father would be Pere Noel. Their daddy will not only be, after all, happy because of this trip, but there will be a wonderful happy end!

The one that every story, fictional or real, should have!

Anna Maria Polidori 

Longing and Other Stories by Jun'ichico Tanizaki

 Longing and Other Stories

by Jun'ichico Tanizaki Translated by Anthony H.Chambers and Paul McCarthy is a new short-tale book published by Columbia University Press.Jun'ichico Tanizaki is one of the most prominent important writer of the past century. The three short tales published in this book are part of the first period of writings of the beloved Japanese author. 

The first short story, Longing, is about the fantastic journey of a boy, ended with a striking revelation. The second short tale, Sorrows of a Heretic, is the story of a pretty poor student of an university, aspiring novelist.The third story, The Story of an Unhappy Mother, pretty intense and revelating, it is based on sense of guilty, and sad and abrupt departures. In this case characters thought too much on the sense of the actions of the other beloved one, jumping at radical conclusions.

Jun'ichico Tanizaki explores with great intensity and fascination families and inner voices hidden in every person.

Highly recommended.

I thank Columbia University Press for thephysical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori  

Inwardness by Jonardon Ganeri

 Inwardness by Jonardon Ganeri

is a new philosophical book published by Columbia University Press, defining the meaning of of this word, read considering the perspectives of old and modern thinkers. Starting from Augustine and his original theory that, after all this world is, for our interiority a library of memories. Kirkegaard thought, vice-versa, that a human being is the synthesis of infinite and finite, temporal and eternal, freedom and necessity. 

Masks are also treated largely in the book because a mask hides the real self of a person behind a fake character. 

Also the real face of a person is taking in consideration: a thematic I appreciate a lot, because my face has mutated a lot, recently, and, let me add, fortunately.

The appearance and the real self of a person is important, because our face represents also the relationships that we establish with other people and represents the mirror or ourselves. So, also if our soul would want to speak another language, our face reflect who we are outside and this discrepancy can be seen because of a characterial alteration; so, sometimes, people can't read correctly our character or our person because they see someone distorted. A cosmetic surgeon, writes the author said one day to a person: "Man's soul is in his skin. The face, in the final analysis, is the expression something like an equation by which we show our relationship with others. It's a roadway between oneself and others." 

Borges with his short tales sees the inwardness as a series of dreams within dreams. What we want to be and who we are.

Pessoa noticed differently that we are, suggestive idea, "eternal tourists of ourselves..." Although, he added "there is no landscape but who we are."

The boook illustrates also the position of Simone Weil, and other thinkers and religions with originality and without heaviness but with the idea of searching for more readings!!!

I recommend to all of you this little book. It's refreshing and considering the times, an important distraction.

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

Anna Maria Polidori