A collection of wonderful, delicate, intense short stories
I love Ray Bradbury. This guy could have written vacuum cleaner manuals and made them awesome. This book was a birthday gift, I didn't know it (although I had already read some book by Bradbury) and I didn't want to know anything about it before reading it, not to spoil the fun. I didn't even know i
... (continue)
I love Ray Bradbury. This guy could have written vacuum cleaner manuals and made them awesome. This book was a birthday gift, I didn't know it (although I had already read some book by Bradbury) and I didn't want to know anything about it before reading it, not to spoil the fun. I didn't even know it was a short story collection! Lacking of mind breadth, while expecting sci-fi, Ray stuck me with an incredible variety of subjects and characters. There is everything, from love stories to fantasy, from a little sci-fi to the struggle of aging and living. What really strikes me is Bradbury's talent to fascinate the reader with a delicate, intense and stimulating prose. The best you can do is letting him take care of your heart.
It is hard for me to reduce my opinion about this book to a number of stars. I chose four as a compromise between its value (in terms of message, depth and cultural influence) and the quite slow rhythm of some pages, especially in the central part. This said, missing it would be a pity and a shame.
... (continue)
It is hard for me to reduce my opinion about this book to a number of stars. I chose four as a compromise between its value (in terms of message, depth and cultural influence) and the quite slow rhythm of some pages, especially in the central part. This said, missing it would be a pity and a shame. Huxley's vision astonishes for its power and the danger it foresees. More than genetic engineering, the enemy of the story is the lack of critical thought. From this angle, it is easy to match this novel with the other two dystopian milestones and masterpieces, "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451". Huxley does not create a stifling atmosphere as Orwell does, nor he has Bradbury's talent to tell a story and catch the reader word by word, but before both of them imagined a future mankind had better avoid and showed us the real picture and, together, the frailty of our nature. It becomes even more impressive when you think that, just a few years after the book was published, intellectual and moral laziness would bring the world to war.
Mi rivolgo ad Alessandro Baricco. Era il primo tuo libro che leggevo. Sei bravissimo. Giochi con le parole come pochi e riesci a costruire intrecci interessanti. Sei padrone della sintassi e la sfrutti a pieno. Peccato che per le prime almeno 120 pagine il tuo romanzo debba inchinarsi all'ostentazio
... (continue)
Mi rivolgo ad Alessandro Baricco. Era il primo tuo libro che leggevo. Sei bravissimo. Giochi con le parole come pochi e riesci a costruire intrecci interessanti. Sei padrone della sintassi e la sfrutti a pieno. Peccato che per le prime almeno 120 pagine il tuo romanzo debba inchinarsi all'ostentazione sfrontata e continua delle tue abilità. Mi stupisci per la disinvoltura con cui passi da un canone all'altro, dalla descrizione piana al dialogo quasi da pièce teatrale, ma mi snervi impedendomi di finire una pagina senza tornare indietro a rileggere almeno tre volte. Poi, gradualmente ma non troppo, il libro diventa normale. Nel senso buono, si intende. Come d'incanto le pagine diventano comprensibili e si inizia a gustare le interazioni dei personaggi. Tranquillo, la tua bravura continua a trasparire, anche senza doverla schivare per cercare di capire la storia. Ti dirò che la si apprezza anche di più. Nel frattempo, la valutazione che fino a quel momento si era mantenuta intorno a una stella o una stella e mezza (proprio perché sei bravo), comincia velocemente a salire. Peccato che le pagine scorrano veloci e leggere (sempre nel senso buono) e che la fine del libro arrivi in fretta, perché le stelle si fermano a tre. Caro Alessandro, leggerò sicuramente altro di te, ma per favore non cercare più di stupirmi con gli effetti speciali.
Some paragraphs made me laugh a lot. Some others gave interesting insights on Holden's character and his personality. In some pages I found interesting food for thought. The subject is extremely interesting and I liked the story of this boy looking for a meaning in his life and rejecting established
... (continue)
Some paragraphs made me laugh a lot. Some others gave interesting insights on Holden's character and his personality. In some pages I found interesting food for thought. The subject is extremely interesting and I liked the story of this boy looking for a meaning in his life and rejecting established society. My problem with this book is the style. The next book I'll read had better not contain the words "phony", "corny", "flit". Also, I found a certain discrepancy between Holden's love for the school subject of English, reading and writing, and the "lousy" (there, another word I've had enough of) style of some pieces. My note would actually be 3.5, but I feel that digesting the book will make it raise a little, so that's it, four stars.
Should I be sorry I didn't read it when I was a child? Maybe. I would have probably dived more in Wonderland and felt the awe for the bizarre characters and situations. Maybe not. I couldn't have read it in English and I wouldn't have appreciated what I think is at the same time the best part of the
... (continue)
Should I be sorry I didn't read it when I was a child? Maybe. I would have probably dived more in Wonderland and felt the awe for the bizarre characters and situations. Maybe not. I couldn't have read it in English and I wouldn't have appreciated what I think is at the same time the best part of the book: the return to childhood and the importance of keeping alive the child inside us. This said, Carroll is a precursor of psychedelia. I would love to see the Cheshire Cat singing "Alice in the sky with diamonds".
We'll Always Have Paris
I love Ray Bradbury. This guy could have written vacuum cleaner manuals and made them awesome. This book was a birthday gift, I didn't know it (although I had already read some book by Bradbury) and I didn't want to know anything about it before reading it, not to spoil the fun. I didn't even know i ... (continue)
I love Ray Bradbury. This guy could have written vacuum cleaner manuals and made them awesome. This book was a birthday gift, I didn't know it (although I had already read some book by Bradbury) and I didn't want to know anything about it before reading it, not to spoil the fun. I didn't even know it was a short story collection!
Lacking of mind breadth, while expecting sci-fi, Ray stuck me with an incredible variety of subjects and characters. There is everything, from love stories to fantasy, from a little sci-fi to the struggle of aging and living.
What really strikes me is Bradbury's talent to fascinate the reader with a delicate, intense and stimulating prose. The best you can do is letting him take care of your heart.
Brave New World
It is hard for me to reduce my opinion about this book to a number of stars. I chose four as a compromise between its value (in terms of message, depth and cultural influence) and the quite slow rhythm of some pages, especially in the central part. This said, missing it would be a pity and a shame. ... (continue)
It is hard for me to reduce my opinion about this book to a number of stars. I chose four as a compromise between its value (in terms of message, depth and cultural influence) and the quite slow rhythm of some pages, especially in the central part. This said, missing it would be a pity and a shame. Huxley's vision astonishes for its power and the danger it foresees. More than genetic engineering, the enemy of the story is the lack of critical thought. From this angle, it is easy to match this novel with the other two dystopian milestones and masterpieces, "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451". Huxley does not create a stifling atmosphere as Orwell does, nor he has Bradbury's talent to tell a story and catch the reader word by word, but before both of them imagined a future mankind had better avoid and showed us the real picture and, together, the frailty of our nature.
It becomes even more impressive when you think that, just a few years after the book was published, intellectual and moral laziness would bring the world to war.
Oceano mare
Mi rivolgo ad Alessandro Baricco. Era il primo tuo libro che leggevo. Sei bravissimo. Giochi con le parole come pochi e riesci a costruire intrecci interessanti. Sei padrone della sintassi e la sfrutti a pieno. Peccato che per le prime almeno 120 pagine il tuo romanzo debba inchinarsi all'ostentazio ... (continue)
Mi rivolgo ad Alessandro Baricco. Era il primo tuo libro che leggevo. Sei bravissimo. Giochi con le parole come pochi e riesci a costruire intrecci interessanti. Sei padrone della sintassi e la sfrutti a pieno. Peccato che per le prime almeno 120 pagine il tuo romanzo debba inchinarsi all'ostentazione sfrontata e continua delle tue abilità. Mi stupisci per la disinvoltura con cui passi da un canone all'altro, dalla descrizione piana al dialogo quasi da pièce teatrale, ma mi snervi impedendomi di finire una pagina senza tornare indietro a rileggere almeno tre volte.
Poi, gradualmente ma non troppo, il libro diventa normale. Nel senso buono, si intende. Come d'incanto le pagine diventano comprensibili e si inizia a gustare le interazioni dei personaggi. Tranquillo, la tua bravura continua a trasparire, anche senza doverla schivare per cercare di capire la storia. Ti dirò che la si apprezza anche di più. Nel frattempo, la valutazione che fino a quel momento si era mantenuta intorno a una stella o una stella e mezza (proprio perché sei bravo), comincia velocemente a salire. Peccato che le pagine scorrano veloci e leggere (sempre nel senso buono) e che la fine del libro arrivi in fretta, perché le stelle si fermano a tre.
Caro Alessandro, leggerò sicuramente altro di te, ma per favore non cercare più di stupirmi con gli effetti speciali.
The Catcher in the Rye
Some paragraphs made me laugh a lot. Some others gave interesting insights on Holden's character and his personality. In some pages I found interesting food for thought. The subject is extremely interesting and I liked the story of this boy looking for a meaning in his life and rejecting established ... (continue)
Some paragraphs made me laugh a lot. Some others gave interesting insights on Holden's character and his personality. In some pages I found interesting food for thought. The subject is extremely interesting and I liked the story of this boy looking for a meaning in his life and rejecting established society. My problem with this book is the style. The next book I'll read had better not contain the words "phony", "corny", "flit". Also, I found a certain discrepancy between Holden's love for the school subject of English, reading and writing, and the "lousy" (there, another word I've had enough of) style of some pieces.
My note would actually be 3.5, but I feel that digesting the book will make it raise a little, so that's it, four stars.
Alice adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Should I be sorry I didn't read it when I was a child? Maybe. I would have probably dived more in Wonderland and felt the awe for the bizarre characters and situations. Maybe not. I couldn't have read it in English and I wouldn't have appreciated what I think is at the same time the best part of the ... (continue)
Should I be sorry I didn't read it when I was a child? Maybe. I would have probably dived more in Wonderland and felt the awe for the bizarre characters and situations. Maybe not. I couldn't have read it in English and I wouldn't have appreciated what I think is at the same time the best part of the book: the return to childhood and the importance of keeping alive the child inside us.
This said, Carroll is a precursor of psychedelia. I would love to see the Cheshire Cat singing "Alice in the sky with diamonds".