Sourire Une Anthropologie de l'Enigmatique by David Le Breton

 It was 4 o'clock. I could not sleep so I went downstairs and I switched on my smartphone. Surfing several pages, including the one of L'Editions Métailié, I have  been attracted by a book: Sourire Une Anthropologie de l'Enigmatique

by David Le Breton. I sent them an e-mail immediately, because for more than 23 years I haven't had a smile, I haven't been normal as all the other people are, and I suffered emotionally, psychologically, physically and socially in a terrible way. I am fixing this problem: not having a smile has been a real torture, trust me when I tell you that.

In this essay, written wonderfully well, in a trip through literature and cinema, anedocts,  religion, beautiful encounters, children and much more you will "meet" a lot of different...smiles and the meaning of smiles in our societies.

A smile is the simplest gesture that our face does, putting in movement eyes, mouth, nose, eyes, forehead, and the entire body: smiling is the emanation of a body, the passport of our soul.

Smiles can be crucials in our existence but also when we pass away.

Coppi and Bartali is an example of the cruciality of a smile. Bartali, more serious and less easy going than the first one, when understood that he would have lost and maybe his time as cyclist was over, simply... smiled.

The second one is the smile left by a dead person.

There was once a clown in a  circus. He really enjoyed to entertain people but once he fell sick; they found someone else for that evening: that guy had had a wonderful success. The clown understood that he wouldn't never had that success, deciding to leave the circus. As a vagabond, during a night in a park, was killed by a police officer because this one thought that was a dangerous criminal: he discovered on his face a beautiful and sunny smile.

But...when we smile? We smile continuously: when we meet someone it is maybe the first thing that we do. We do that at work, in company of friends, in family. Look for example at a vendor, merchant or owner of a store. He/she will always welcome his/her customer with a beautiful smile, inviting him to appreciate first of all who is in front of them and later, their products.

As also writes Le Breton "Dans nos sociétées surtout, sourire est un ingrédient nécessaire aux rites d'entrée ou de sortie d'une interaction, une modalité minimale de consécration de l'autre et de consécration de soi par l'autre" in our societies in particualr, smiling is an indispensible ingredient and a sort of ritual of entrance or vice versa during an interaction, it's a modality of consacration of the other and of consacration of ourselves for the others.

Smiles are different also in several part of the world: in countries less developed than our western world, where there is more poverty, people are immensely happy; they can be elderly, young ones, or adults; they will offer you the best and warmest smiles you have ever seen in this world.

There are also the smiles of criminals: let's remember in Oslo the guy who killed wagons of people: he was happy and cheerful while he did it.

More a person will smile and more will be accepted in the society: when we search for an information, or for a street, if we meet someone joyous and smiling the encounter will be more satisfying. 

Illness changes the face and smile of a person: let's imagine someone who is gradually losing the mental cognitions. The smile will be vague, because he won't never understand why he should smile: why his smile was once important: he has forgotten who had been happy because had received one of his smiles: a person affected by Alzheimer lives in an unrecognizable place where the smile is empty by its most powerful significance: making happy and cheerful other people.

It is terrible the advent of Covid because  we see just the forehead and eyes of our neighbors, colleagues, or friends: covered by masks, smile, teeth, mouth, nose disappear: we are like phantoms and what remains for trying to understand a smile, adds the author, is the voice.

Smile incarnates in an individual all his history whithin a particular context and the description of a smile, writes the author, if we involve muscles and other nervous functions taken in consideration is a kind of autopsy that neutralize the most intimate experience of the individual.

Truth or fakeness in a smile is another important point, like also the intimate difference between smiling and laughing; similars but at the same time pretty different states of... mind. 

Another point of view taken in consideration are smiles in spirituality, in particular the Asiatic ones: Shiva and other gods, remarking the beauty of the wonderful smile of Buddha. It incarnates promise, tranquillity, serenity. 

Laughing for catholics is not beauty: but a smile is appreciated because symbol of spirituality.

Yes: not having a smile as remarks in the final chapter the author, is a real mutilation. 

I want to tell you my experience. 

In my case it happened because a dentist put wrongly a permanent brace when I was 21 years that blocked the right mandibular tendon. I loved to smile, in particular when little. I loved smiling in the american way and I was so sunny in that old pictures, when I was 10 years. I was happy and normal.

Then, when the smile was modified at the age of 12 or so, by a dentist not too competent started the first crucifixion because I couldn't recognize the old Anna Maria that I was. I became serious in pictures taken. The smile was over.

Then I only returned by a dentist when I was 21 years. I wanted to fix my smile, that unfortunately wasn't beauty at all. Then, the blockage and the horror.

Per 23 years I fought, for trying to see how I could resolve this problem, setting myself free. But, strangely I found only closed doors. Per years.

For the rest I took great care of my teeth. Just...I wanted to return to be normal, to see myself normal and to live a normal existence. Sometimes, I am a journalist, I spotted young people sat outside the bar, all happy, and cheerful, when I went at the town council thinking that that destiny wouldn't never being my destiny. "Look, how relaxed and happy they are." They were normals, they could smile, they could interact well with others. I couldn't. 

It was as if I hadn't to be happy. If I hadn't to live a decent life. You can't understand dear reader, what I haven't thought during that generation of deformity. 

It has been psychologically devastating.

Then, something started to change, was it that gentle wind? and I met along my way, years ago a lot of people who wanted to set me free in a way or in another and these good influences helped me a lot. 

One day my mother experienced a problem with her denture, I brought her by her dentist and there, she told him: look how ugly my daughter is on the mouth. I replied that I was taking great care of my teeth just it was impossible to resolve the problem of the blockage of the mandibular tendon. Mr. Giuseppe Camponovo, the dentist said me: But yes! We can do that! We have a specialist of Smile affording here every month. May I take an appointment?

Free? Free? Free? I don't want to lose any other time!!!!! Yessss!!!!!!

Now, when I look at my face, after 13 months of bite, 13 month of permanent brace and another year or more of permanent brace waiting for me, I still live it with incredulity and a state of wonder. I still can't believe that this miracle is happening, and that I can return to see myself as I was once. I am grateful to Valerio Giansiracusa and mr.Camponovo for the work done.

Said that, this book is inspiring and engaging. David Le Breton offers to his reader a powerful, beautiful and sunny, friendly, smiling essay!  

Highly recommended book.

I thank Editions Métailié for the physical copy of Sourise.

Anna Maria Polidori 

 

Les Frères Noirs by Lisa Tetzner and Hannes Binder

 Les Frères Noirs

by Lisa Tetzner and Hannes Binder is a graphic novel for children  on a topic pretty ugly, but that in the past was common: children sold to nasty people for necessity.

Giorgio, we are in 1838 lives in a locality called Verzasca, his village is Sonogno. He helps his parents during the daily works and he is a good kid. One day a man approaches in a bar the father of Giorgio asking him of selling his son.

At first the father of Giorgio is not sure, but then, thinking also at the cost of medicines necessary to his wife for healing, accepts.

Giorgio, so, goes away from his house, his parents, and his normality, reaching with this man Milan where he will start to work as chimneyspeeper. It had to be just for six months, but the story will be different.

The family who gives him hospitality, apart for the daughter of mr. Rossi, sick, is disgusting. Giorgio is not fed up sufficiently, and he doesn't live with dignity. 

The work of chimneyspeeper is terrible: a horrible work for a kid, it alters respiration because lungs are in sufferance, and also, he doesn't receive any decent pay. One day, when he collapses, he will meet a doctor that will help him ... These children, chimneyspeepers have in the while created an association called Les Frères Noirs. Giorgio will become a member of the association and the doctor, when he will discover the real conditions of these children will help them.

Giorgio lives other misadventures thanks to the Rossi's family but then he will escape away, will search again for the doctor, receiving the sufficient help for becoming a new person.

Once grown-ups, with his wife, the sister of Alfredo, I don't want to spoil too much, Giorgio will return in his homeland. He tells to a man that he decided to become teacher because he wants to fight for a best justice.

It's a graphic novel, this one, illustrated powerfully well. Written by Lisa Tetzner, Lisa was also the translator of C.S. Lewis and Narnia; being Jewish she emigrated in Switzerland: dead in 1963 her books still resonates powerfully in our times.

Hannes Binder the illustrator works in Milan and Hamburg.

Highly recommended book.

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

Anna Maria Polidori 

Easter with Snowman Paul by Yossi Lapid Illustrated by Joanna Pasek

 Easter with Snowman Paul by Yossi Lapid Illustrated by Joanna Pasek

is a new, tender adventure of the most beloved snowman existing in children's literature! 

Paul, this time, will fight with a jealus hen. The hen is nasting her eggs, when Paul asks her for one of her eggs: after all the egg is not anymore in the nest. Paul would want to try if he can wins a contest, and shares this information with the hen. The hen is thrilled because of it and donates the egg to Paul. Just...It's the kid of the family where Paul lives that is skeptical regarding the Egg Contest. He can't does it! But Paul asks for his help as well and the kid decides of helping him.

Of course the story has a very happy end.

I love illustrations and I love the character of Snowman Paul because tender,extremely friendly and realistically a good example for everyone!

Recommending to you this children's book, I start to wish to all of you a Happy, Peaceful and Joyous Easter!

I thank the author for the copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Pierre Senges et Serge Bloch présentent Molière Sa Majesté l'Acteur Lu par Marzorati et interprété par Les Lunaisiens et Les Pages du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles

Pierre Senges et Serge Bloch présentent Molière Sa Majesté l'Acteur

Lu par Marzorati et interprété par Les Lunaisiens et Les Pages du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. An illustrated children's book this one, with a CD included, created for the celebration of the 400th year of the birth of Moliere.  

Children can choose if reading or listening this book, finding in both cases, an extreme joy and excitement.

I suggest to everyone the listening, while the reader will follow the written words of the book. 

This one is a full-immersion in music, words in fact, for celebrating thanks to many enchanting songs the period where Moliere emerged as the most powerful actor and creator of wonderful comedies powerfully still represented, fresh and modern in the theaters of the entire world. 

Once, the grand-father of Jean-Baptiste, real name of Moliere, brought him after a long walk, in the Pont Neuf; recently built, we are at the beginning of 1600, this bridge was the most creative part of Paris, because, there, many many actors, but also acrobats, puppetters enjoyed to entertain people: at first Jean-Baptiste Poquelin didn't understand this world so different from the one he knew very well. 

His grand-father brought him also to a theater, a real theather. Jean-Baptiste was suprised because of the different way of speaking that actors had, with more emphasys, color, if compared to common people: his grand-father reassured him: they are actors and they so, are giving an interpratation with more pathos, of several existential situations portrayed on the stage.

After the first visit with his grand-father, Jean-Baptiste couldn't help himself: he decided to spend every single minute of his free time in company of actors. He did want to spend as much time as possible with his new friends because the house where he lived with his grand-father was big, and old and too sad to him still too little for being confined at home.

Actors  started to appreciate him; he assisted to Scaramouche, an italian comedy learning the show in its enterity: from lines passing through the appreciation for the the beauty that was surrounding actors:  coreography, fancy-dress costumes.  He became close friend in particular with a girl. Soon, Jean-Baptiste creates a song on the monarch, and although the king hasn't still listened to this song, humoristically the rest of the population have, appreciating it a lot.

But...It's a mess because if the king doesn't know that, monsieur Couperose a name that it's a program, has...

So, this guard, with the king decide of putting in jail the first person that they think could potentially be the responsible for the creation of this song...

Jean-Baptiste is so sad for the mess caused to his friends and the creation of a song that, it seems, is upsetting the king.

In the while, Jean-Baptiste decides that he will become an actor; he didn't know that he would have been the biggest actor born in France, but, surely he calls himself with the artistic name of Moliere.

Pierre Senges is a french writer, while Serge Bloch has illustrated  with a special and sophisticated touch the book; thanks to the chorus of Les Lunaisiens Arnaud Marzorati proposes the rediscovery of a certain french song and sonority. 

A beautiful, humurous, and suggestive livre-disc! Pour tout! Les enfants et les adults. 

Highly recommended.

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

Anna Maria Polidori 

La Maison des Farfelus by Mikolaj Pa and Gosia Herba translated by Lydia Waleryszak

 Creativity is a wonderful dimension! A creative person, is in fact is someone who, via mind or hands, is in grade to leave a powerful trace in this world.

Creativity is the most powerful resource for communicating to the other ones personal messages thanks to books, paintings, cooking, baking, music and much more.

In every existence is important a touch of creativity. Why? Because creative people are joyous: they can speak openly with their soul, hearts and abilities in every thing they do. 

It's not wrong to add that creative existences are satisfying, plenty and happy. 

For this reason, La Joie de Lire proposes La Maison des Farfelus

by Mikolaj Pa and Gosia Herba translated by Lydia Waleryszak.

In this Polish children's book there is the most powerful celebration  and beauty of being a group creative families living all together (well in different apartments) under the same roof: the one of the magical Maison des Farfelus. Oh! I forgot : farfules is a word meaning eccentrics, wackos.

There is Souriz, a mouse, for starting: he is an important rapper; we discover him while he tries to find his hat; a hilarious moment. 

Family Bonobo are specialiazed in baking, yum! There is a recipe that you can try with your parents! There is who is passionate of birds and their melodious sounds, so that he records their songs.

You will discover someone who cultivate with passion and determination internal plants in an exotic travel in our entire, beautiful world passing through the green thumb!

A family play the most diversified musical instruments and other ones are passionate of coreography and sculpture. 

The families of Maison des Farfelus will always live in harmony, peace and sharing when together their passions, they will create originality and important visions.

Beautiful and sunny illustrations, you will love this children's book.

Mikolaj Pa is a writer and lives in Wroclaw, Polland, like also the illustrator of this book, Gosia Herba.

Highly recommended children's book.

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

Anna Maria Polidori 

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Le Grand Tour Autoportrait de L'Europe par ses écrivains Ouvrage Collectif sous la direction d'Olivier Guez

 Oh, I have always loved to treat the thematic of Le Grand Tour and I reviewed several books on the topic: what was exactly this long trip attended by people of culture, pretty wealthy immediately after their studies and before to start their active existence in the field that they had chosen? Well, a trip including a lot of European countries, done for discovering the beauty of a culture in a special moment of the existence: when there wasn't still a partner, or a family: when young age would have preserved the enchantment of a dream. 

It was a wonderful opportunity and these men thanks, later to their tales, to their books written because inspired by places, and people and parfums and food they tasted during their holiday  have been the first Touristic Office in...Words and the first promoters of new, exciting adventures that deserved to be lived by other people. 

It was thanks to them if later always more people became curious and decided to explore a Continent, the European one, plenty of surprises.

I remember when Marie-Louise one of my correspondents from California afforded here. She told me that it would have been a joke the visit all the European capitals, because, she remarked, Europe is very little.

When I received this book published by Grasset, Le Grand Tour Autoportrait de L'Europe par ses écrivains,

that I wanted to read from several months, the war between Ukraine and Russia, long more than 8 years had known an escalation putting all Europe in an agitated mood. 

No one wanted this war in Ukraine and Russia, not common people for sure. My ukrainian friends are in sufferance also for their Russian friends and relatives; my Russian friend thinks that we hate them because of this war adding that they didn't want this war. No one is hating anyone! I asked to my Russian friend of not hating me because of what it is going on between UE and Russia and sanctions affecting more common people than the wealthy ones. 

No one want to be hated because of the gestures of the government where she lives in, I understood it during these weeks.

And I cried and I cry. I can tell you  that, dear reader, I cried and I cry, because of internal lacerations, because I love my Ukrainian friends and my Russian friend: because all this story is absurd and pretty upsetting: because there is still a rampant pandemic and our governments have wanted this: it is too much. A war is an act of crime but no one is innocent, I am sorry. 

All people and governments involved in this horrible game are profoundly guilty for what it is happening; as it happened in the past. 

Let me just remember what happened in some parts of Italy during the last world war conflict: in our city, Gubbio, a partisan entered in a cafè called  Nafissi or Caterina on  20 june 1944 killing a German officer and leaving another one more dead than alive: they were two Germans officers in peace: there wasn't the exigency of killing. There wasn't the exigency of killing.

Germans started an immediate round up: they captured 80 people: the bishop Beniamino Ubaldi wanted to donate his existence avoiding the departures of that innocents, but Germans wanted more and more blood. They asked to the captured people of digging 40 graves: then they choose once done it, 40 people, setting free the other 40 ones: the chosen people were killed. The person who killed the german officer left the city pretty quickly, in opposite case no sure what would have happened to him as well! without to return anymore.

In Rome same story: partisans put some bombs that killed wagons of Germans: Germans rounded up hundreds of people, more than 300. One of them was a student: the family of that boy discovered that the book where he was studying in, was still open. This ones are Le Fosse Ardeatine, Rome. 

Do we want to speak of Sant'Anna di Stazzema? where  560 innocents souls, including many children were killed? In this case it was a terroristic attack wanted by some german brigades, with the help of italian locals. Innocent people. 

Wars are always cruels! There is never, never an exception to it!

Back to the book: 

This book has been studied and wanted because France is at the moment at the guidance of the European Union. It contains 27 chapters written by 27 writers of every European State included in the Union. 

As said Kundera, Europe is a concentration of differences in an, after all, little space.

French people wouldn't never imagine a deflagration like this one; a new war in Europe, when Macron started the six month of presidency.

A big problem that must be resolved pacifically.

Reading these writings, I focused my attention on States of the East of Europe considering the mess that it is going on there: it is more than obvious that no one has still metabolized the Second World War Conflict. 

No, because it was dishuman and brought internal lacerations not sorted out.

 

Where you can find voices speaking of the Second World War? In every chapter of this book, more or less.

Polland: the writer admits that the last Varsaw was much more beauty than not this one, completely rebuilt after the latest world war conflict: it was completely destroyed during the war. In Roumanie the URSS would have wanted to change their tongue, of latin origin and pretty old, so old that Ovid, during a trip wrote that he could understand them. The writer touches also problematics like historic revisionism and exhile, a thematic this one, treated a lot.

The finnish contributor underlines the list of banned books, and an information much more under control when part of the Russian state. 

Lituanie has three important cities, and the contributor gives a wonderful idea of a state with a suffering past: Vilnius the current capital, where people are poliglots, with several different religions and creeds: Kaunas the so-called "capitale provisoire" had lost many jewish people during the last world war conflict, while Klaipedia is more similar to a Scandinavian city. It's a gem of a portrait that I am sure you'll love very much.

In other States during the last World War conflict was created a ghetto for Jewish people.

The Italian tale focuses on the Manifeste of Ventotene and the character of Ernesto Rossi (and Altiero Spinelli.) Their manifeste was largely known thanks to Ada Rossi, Ursula Hirschmann, Gigliola and Fiorella Spinelli, The writing Pour une Europe Libre et Unie has been released in 1944 and it is considered a founder book on the European Union.

Every tale, and so every European State is rich of considerations, most important events that touched it, written in a sensorial, joyous, thoughtful way, trying to listen to the past,, present problematics of a beauty of a multiform variegated universe as Europe is. 

Highly recommended book.

I thank Grasset for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori 

Du Suicide by Leon Tolstoi

 Leon Tolstoi writes Du Suicide

 a little pamphlet, close to the end of his existence. He visited also two psychiatric hospitals for trying to understand much better this new way, largely used in the XX century, for ending the existence. 

Tolstoi read several books on the topic, because suicides became an escapism for sorting out all the existential problematics. But... Why Tolstoi focused his attention on this problematic? Because with the time his reputation of wisdom grew esponentially and many people started to write him exposing their problematics, including the desire of killing themselves. Dividing in three parts the potential suicidary cases, Tolstoi affirms with strength that many people are not as devoted christians as they want to appear.

Although the christianity is the religion followed by the most, with its own versality, Ortodox, Lutheran, Protestant, Catholic, there are some problems.

People who prefer to take their own existence, if real christians, wouldn't do that!

Tolstoi, great observer of religions and philosophies of Asian countries remains of an idea: that soon or late that part of the world will prevail against a western civilization that remain under many ways... behind.

Being a problematic of the XX century this one of suicide, Tolstoi focuses on the modern culture and the possession of too many objects in the houses of people. 

 

He writes that some people would want to find the real sense of the existence, when there is no sense to the existence, for then, focusing on the contradictions of a society, also represented by les hommes de gouvernments who, sometimes live "dans un luxe insensé."

Tolstoi then speaks of the insanity, most of the time, of living in a certain way. The passage: "Nous menon una vie folle, contraire aux exigences premieres e les plus simple du bon sens....nous ne faisons pas la distinction entre una vie folle et una vie raissonnable, nous considerons que notre vie folle et raisonnable" is one of the most beautiful ones.

There are no serious recipes for healing a soul, if not, maybe the acceptance of the irrationality of the existence, stopping to give a real sense to it and living the best possible interior life with a certain dose of wisdom.

Highly recommended book.

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

Anna Maria Polidori