book reviews

Reviews of books by relationship gurus, dating experts, and cautionary tale-tellers.

Tra Livorno e Genova, il poeta delle due città Omaggio a Giorgio Caproni a cura di Patrizia Garofalo e Cinzia Demi
There are literary essays that enlighten, enrich, make people say: “Here, this is exactly what I thought and felt”. There are others dripping academia, for example those read on university days, when you had to waste an hour, not to study the poet or novelist in question, but just to understand what the critic meant with his nebula jumble of words. We students ended up telephoning one another, asking: “But what did you get?” We tried to reconstruct the thread of the discourse, to “translate” the text into an understandable Italian, laboriously linking the subject and the predicate. Often, in the end, once paraphrased and vulgarized, the essay could be summed up in three or four key concepts. We felt, then, the need to move away from a world made up only of people talking to themselves, and immerse ourselves in real life, in concrete things.
By Patrizia Poli3 years ago in Humans
Romanticism in "Frankenstein"
Romanticism was a literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in 18th century Europe with an emphasis on emotion, nature, the power of individuals, the elevation of innocence, and not relying on science and technology.
By Haiibara4 years ago in Humans
Milly Dandolo, "Il dono dell'innocente"
If it weren’t for the fact that the book is yellowed, flecked, cracked, if it weren’t for the fact that the edition (Garzanti 1942) is a reprint of the original for the Treves types of 1926, I would say that the style of “The Gift of the Innocent” by Milly Dandolo is similar to that of many contemporary authors, surprisingly modern for the time, albeit fully influenced by the decadent climate. It is no coincidence that Dandolo, in addition to being a writer for children — a collaborator of “Il Giornalino” at the age of fourteen together with Gian Burrasca’s Vamba — was also a translator of foreign masterpieces. Italian versions and adaptations of Dickens, Maupassant, Katherine Mansfield, Bernardin de Saint Pierre, D. H. Lawrence and Barrie are due to her.
By Patrizia Poli4 years ago in Humans
With what to face the suffering? This is the literary answer
Man is an animal that lies to itself I think the 1970s is a valuable spiritual treasure for us, as do some of my peers. The youth of the seventies were very different from the youth of today, more enthusiastic, simpler, more disciplined, less demanding of life and more unlucky. To be one of these people is an extraordinary privilege, and these feelings are the same as others. I categorically disagree with those who consider this experience to be a sublime feeling, and consider it pathological. Like Orwell, let's think about what one plus one equals two. The 1970s was a very painful time for most Chinese people. Many young people make great self-sacrifice, and the sacrifice is worthless. With those things in mind, let's talk about the sublime. Taking the 1970s as an example, I think there are two types of nobility. One is the nobility of the time, when leaders called on us to bear hardships in the countryside, saying it was an honor. There is another sublime, the sublime of the present, which we ourselves feel sublime after all the suffering and self-sacrifice we have endured. I think this latter sublime is easier to articulate. Freud had the following explanation for masochism: if people live in a kind of pain that they cannot change, they will fall in love with the pain as a pleasure in order to make themselves feel better. To generalize this a little, one might think: Man is an animal that deceives itself. We have suffered a lot of useless hardships and wasted many years, so some people want to say that this experience is noble. The thought made him feel better, so it had some good effect. Unfortunately, it also has some bad effects: some people believe that one must achieve greatness by taking useless pains and wasting one's years. This kind of thinking is not only harmful, it is sick.
By twddn4 years ago in Humans
Romance Reveal Book Box Review
First, I will start by saying that the romance reveal book box is a necessity for anyone who loves romance novels. You can choose between multiple box size options; one book, two books, four, or six books. Each book comes signed by the author AND you get a bunch of goodies with the books. This book box is the best one I've gotten and the one I never willingly wanted to cancel the subscription to.
By Devon Renee4 years ago in Humans
The weakness of human nature
This holiday season, I read this book by Dale Smith, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of the 20th century. The Weakness of Humanity by the writer Carnegie. Browse most of the chapters, read some of the materials, feel quite deep, here to share with you.
By Aaron4 years ago in Humans
Thoughts after reading Entertainment to Death
And many people imagine different, this is not a critique of the entertainment industry, entertainment is just the appearance, television media is the essence behind. In this book, the author Neil Postman deeply analyzes the influence and shaping of media on culture, and proposes a very accurate prediction of the cultural development logic of his TV era with humorous and profound language.
By xinghan4 years ago in Humans
Lu Xun's "Death": Don't overestimate love, don't despise yourself
Liang Shiqiu said: "A marriage based on love is an unparalleled happiness in the world." A pair of lovers have the same heart and make a promise to accompany each other for a lifetime. No matter what age, it is a beautiful picture.
By david4 years ago in Humans
Book Review: The Last Feather by Shameez Patel Papathanasiou
Twenty-two-year-old Cassia's sister is dying, and she doesn't know why. Cassia wakes up in another realm to find her missing best friend, Lucas, who knows how to save her sister. Lucas is part of a community of Reborns, people who were born on earth and after death, were reborn in this realm with magical abilities. The original beings of the realm, the Firsts, rule over them. To keep the Reborn numbers manageable, the king of the Firsts releases a curse to cull them. Cassia needs to break the curse before her time runs out and she is trapped there forever.
By Marie Sinadjan4 years ago in Humans
Gordiano Lupi, "Calcio e acciaio"
“The problem with life is that, even when it never changes, it changes all the time.” A novel where very little happens, “Football and Steel” by Gordiano Lupi, centered on a Proustian remembrance, a madeleine that refers profusely to the author’s previous book, the beautiful “In search of lost Piombino”. Here too nostalgia is the main figure, it permeates all the pages in an excruciating way.
By Patrizia Poli4 years ago in Humans
Why are we gullible? A book by a psychologist reveals the truth behind it
Why are we easily deceived? A book by a psychologist reveals the truth behind it If you ask me whether I have ever been scammed, I can honestly say that I have been scammed, and more than once.
By Gracie J Owen4 years ago in Humans
Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo: A Review
Warning: Spoiler Alerts Alright dear readers, how’s that for a less than creative opening? After seeing everyone and their mother; including but not limited to, literary agents, recommending the book Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reed (who I am uncertain if that is the author’s government name or a pen name) I finally broke down and read it myself.
By Jessica Bugg4 years ago in Humans