O ultimo leitor by Ricardo Piglia (2006)

O livro de Piglia trata de romances mas não é um romance. Em um jogo de espelhos, o autor identifica personagens-leitores dentro de nossas leituras. O Autor seleciona alguns romances, que como ele mesmo diz, utilizando um critério muito pessoal. Ele analisa e compara escritos de Kafka, Guevara e as obras Ulisses e Ana Karienina. Também cita D. Quixote e Robinson Crusoé em vários momentos. O autor chama a atenção para a importância que a leitura e a escrita tem dentro dos romances. Kafka escreve cartas a amada, Guevara faz pausas na batalha para escreve suas impressões em diários ou cartas. O último leitor é o leitor em sua essência, o leitor atento que “se identifica mais com o autor que com os personagens”. Ricardo Piglia é Argentino, nasceu em 1941. É formado em história, trabalhou com gêneros policiais e é autor de Plata Quemada.

Can You Keep a Secret? By Sophie Kinsella (2005)

O livro é muito irreverente e despretensioso. É muito bem escrito pois a leitura flui e quando parece que as aventuras acabam, novas surpresas começam e não é previsível como às vezes achei que seria. Uma ótima leitura para momentos de lazer. A história é interessante, e embora seja uma ficção, a personagem vai tomando vida e torna-se uma colega próxima do dia-a-dia. Senti falta da Rebecca Bloomwood dos outros livros da autora, mas logo simpatizei com Emma, a nova personagem.

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes (2007)

A primeira parte do livro conta uma historia muito divertida, embora se passe durante a recuperação de um acidente com a personagem. O Livro está dividido em duas partes, o que me fez fazer uma pausa de alguns meses. Durante a primeira parte do livro, tudo está indo bem, mas alguma coisa está faltando, e é neste ponto que o livro chama a atenção e vê-se que a autora sabe contar historias. Está muito bem escrito e é muito gostoso de ler. Há trechos muito engraçados. Perde o ritmo na segunda metade, mas logo é retomado e uma série de eventos ocorre na parte final. Um ano e um dia, é o tempo que a personagem leva para voltar a ver a vida pelo lado bom. Uma das frases que me chamou a atenção é que para esquecer alguém que se foi, é necessário um ano e um dia, para que todas as datas festivas sejam passadas sem esta pessoa. Só assim conseguimos acreditar que ela realmente se foi e que a vida continua.

Maria Dos Prazeres, Gabriel García Marquez, ilustrado por Carmen Solé Vendrell (1999)

Pela capa e formato parece um livro infantil mas absolutamente não é. As ilustrações são muito bonitas. Maria tem uma intuição e passa o resto de seus dias se preparando para que a intuição se torne realidade, isso tudo com muita calma e e em todos os detalhes. O final é misterioso, não fica claro o que realmente ocorre. Esta edição trás apenas um dos contos que fazem parte de uma coleção de Contos do Autor, onde todos têm como tema comum o cenário ou a inspiração em sua viagem na América Latina.

eu Christiane F. 13 anos drogada prostituida by Kai Hermann, Horst Rieck (1978)

Christiane F. foi escrito em 1978 por Kai Hermann e Rieck. Hermann se formou em história e ciências políticas na Alemanha, Canadá e Estados Unidos e foi correspondente do jornal Zeit e posteriormente da revista Stern por vários anos, ambas publicações alemãs. Em 1978 Hermann entrevistou uma jovem viciada em heroína Christiane Felscherinow. As entrevistas viraram um livro que ficou entre os mais vendidos. Foi traduzido em 15 idiomas e vendeu milhões de copias além de tornar-se um filme. O livro trás o relato de vida da jovem Christiane F. na idade de 13 a 14 anos. Período em que se mudou do interior da Alemanha para Berlin e teve contato com a droga até tornar-se adicta. O livro trás também o romance entre Christiane e Deflet, sua relação atribulada com o pai, o desespero de sua mãe, as muitas internações e o desespero em livrar-se da droga e ao mesmo tempo ter dinheiro suficiente para comprá-la. Christiane sobreviveu e mora na Alemanha, vive dos direitos autorais do livro e nunca se livrou totalmente da droga. O livro é marcante e importante porque expõe o ponto de vista de Christiane e não de seus parentes, embora estejam presentes no livro relatos de pessoas relacionadas a jovem. A linguagem está desatualizada pois as falas contem gírias da época, talvez por isso tenha perdido um pouco a atualidade, embora o tema seja tão ou mais atual nos dias de hoje. Ótima e importante leitura.

A Morte em Veneza by Thomas Mann (1979)

Depois de ver o filme de mesmo nome do diretor Luchino Visconti (Itália, 1971), é imprescindível ler o livro para compreender melhor o que se passa com Gustav Aschenbach. No livro, os pensamentos estão escritos, no filme há que se perceber pelos gestos e atitudes do personagem. Ambos são obras primas. O livro é breve, mas os personagens são bem descritos por Thomas Mann e a cultura e o ambiente da época estão maravilhosamente descritos e fazem parte da trama.

My Forbidden face by Latifa (2002)

The Afegan theme is here again. This book presents two major diferences with Kite hunting by Hosseini. Latifa's book is a true story and it is from an Afegan girl point of view. The facts are in details and the war horrors and child dreams are mixed. It is a small book but very intense.

Embora o tema afegão seja o mesmo, este livro tem duas grandes diferenças com o Caçador de Pipas de Khaled Hosseini. Este livro de Latifa é uma história real e é contada do ponto de vista de uma menina. Os fatos são relatados com detalhes, e as vezes trazem os horrores da guerra e as vezes os sonhos de uma adolescente. O livro é curto mas tem bastante profundidade.

O caçador de pipas by Khaled Hosseini (2006)

Um livro bem escrito com uma linguagem clara e de fácil leitura. Como há vários acontecimentos ao longo do livro, é difícil parar de ler. Há trechos muito emocionantes. O livro tem algumas partes previsíveis, e algumas que ultrapassam a ficção, decepcionando um pouco (como o encontro de personagem principal com o antigo colega de infância). O livro é bom para se conhecer mais sobre o Afeganistão e parte de sua história. No entanto, My forbidden face de Latifa por ser uma biografia, é mais profundo.

Anthem by Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff (1995)

After reading two books of Ayn Rand and really appreciate them all, I read Anthem. This edition is very interesting; it contains the book Anthem, but also the original version hand-edited by the author itself, which makes it also a historic document. It is a short book and quick to read. On the other side it is a very profound subject and an audacious proposal. The book is a story of a family under a communist regime or collectivism society. And in this society the word “I” does not exists, since individualism is not accepted. So during the whole story, the author uses the word “we”. It is a very interesting experience. It is a philosophical book but also a novel. My second favorite kind of book after biographies. It is my personal opinion, but I recommend the book since it is not a time investment such as Atlas Shrugged’s 1000 pages.

We the living by Ayn Rand (1959)

Due to her experience in life, Ayn Rand is against all kind of communitarian imposition. This book is a fiction but also a biography since most of the events is based on the author’s life. It is a very beautiful book and well written. The author is also a philosopher and that explain the depth of the book and concepts. Kira is the main character, a young Russian woman who falls in love by Leo. Little by little the communism takes part in her life and she experiences the lack of liberty, privacy, individually and also the betrayal of friends and family in defense of the communist party. It is also a novel with the love story between Kira and Leo, but also a statement against collectivism. The book was turned into a movie filmed by an Italian director and actors. The film is also very good and it was filmed without the permission of Ayn Rand but after she saw it, she approved and liked the result.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (1957)

First book I read from Ayn Rand recommended by a Russian friend. Ayn Rand is a Jewish Russian writer who escaped to United States during the communist period. She is founder of the school of objectivism promoted by Leonard Peikoff. Atlas Shrugged is an extensive book, more than one thousand pages. It is a novel and it is a really good book. I read the Portuguese version and the translation was very well done because the text was fluid. The story is interesting and the author imbeds in the story her philosophical and political points of view. The romantic story involving the main character of the book reflects much of the author’s position on Individualism and Objectivism. There is a kind of mystery in the book that held my attention until the end of the book. In Portuguese the book’s title was translated according to this mystery around “who is John Galt” (Quem é John Galt, 1987).

The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith, Weedon Grossmith (1892)

The Diary of Nobody is a really nice book. Written in 1892 it is the proof that when a book refers to human inner thoughts it is timeless. The book is also illustrated by the author’s brother (Weedon) The book is a daily diary of a person, as title says, of nobody in the sense that he is not a famous person but I rather say a diary of everybody. Mr Charles Pooter is a middle class man, a city clerk and he is a married man (with Carrie) and has a son (Lupin). He writes in his diary the highlights of his days and it is really funny. Pooter does not intend to be funny in a comic sense but since he is so direct and frantic in his thoughts and expresses his flows, gaffes, and prides it makes us laugh a lot. I would say it is one of my favorites so far. About the Author, Grossmith was a comedian, writer, actor and singer. He is also famous for his work with composers of comic operas Gilbert and Sullivan. I choose the book aleatory in a sale among several penguin pocket books and it turned to be my reference for good and entertaining readings. The book is available at www.pseudopodium.org/repress/DiaryofANobody or www.authorama.com/diary-of-a-nobody-1.html The book was object of dramatization and adaptations including for television.

Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella (2005)

The book is fun to read, is very present-day, and for those born in the sevenths, there are a lot of things to relate to. The book is fiction and comic but it points some important issues regarding relationship with friends, spouse, parents and siblings. The book is easy to read, although its 351 pages, it can be read quite fast and it has some surprising moments along the story that keep you interested in reach the ending. I recommend the book for feminine-souls and for those who are looking for a fun reading. Rebecca Bloomwood is a character of Sophia Kinsella and the book Shopaholic & Sister is the 5th of the series. Rebecca is a Shopaholic from London always updates with the latest fashion trend. In this book, she and her husband is about to end a 10 months honeymoon trip and she is ready to go back home and find everything exactly as it was before. However everything has changed and Rebecca faces one deception after another. People have changed and all the bills and shops she did during the trip are arriving. She also found out she is not a single daughter as she thought, and as the title of the book says, she has a sister!

The Invention of Solitude by Paul Auster (1982)

The book has two histories 1) Portrait of an Invisible Man and 2) the book of memory. The first history is an autobiography of Paul Auster regarding his father’s death. While Auster organize his father’s personal objects after his death, he reminds of moments of his relationship with his father. Through his objects he starts or at least he tries to understand his dad better. The book describes very intimate thoughts about their relationship; however a lot of things remain unsolved for the Author. The handling of this father´s objects also leads him to the discovery about his family's history. It is very well written. The book has some quotes in between and some of them are very interesting such as the memory is the space where a thing happens for the second time, which is actually what the book is about. Those who have very reserved relatives or parents (which I mean those who seems emotionally detached and disconnected from family) will be linked with the Author’s main issues. "The Book of Memory," is a bit hard to read, the reading does not flow as the first part. It is a more abstract reading and it is about different issues in a life of an author. It is autobiographical with commentaries on the nature of chance interspersed with family, solitude and language. It seems like an experiment of sitting in a room with a blank paper and then, writes what comes to the mind in a very free style but at the same time focusing a subject. It must be interesting to do. It is not so attracting as the first part of the book.

The non existent knight by Italo Calvino (1959)

Ítalo Calvino is one of the most important Italian fiction writers of the XX Century. (1923-1985). He tells us in this book “The non existent knight” the adventures of Agilulfo Emo Bertrandino dos Guildiverni e dos Altri de Corbentraz e Sura, a non existent knight of Charles Magno court. The history is situated in the medieval times and it is narrated by a nun in a convent who has as a penitence to write the history of Agilulfo. The main character, Agilulfo dresses an armor but actually inside of the armor there is nothing, however one anything with a lot of attitude. The armor of Agilulfo is impeccable and he is methodical and bureaucratic, all this to justify his existence. Since the book treats several subjects in a direct way and in parody style and for the fact that Agilulfo does not exists physically, the book has been largely discussed especially by literary circles and in the psychoanalysis field. There are several scientific articles that use the character as starting point for personality studies. The book makes part of a trilogy "Our ancestors" and it has very funny episodes. For those who didn't read Ítalo Calvino, this is a good beginning.

Oracle Night by Paul Auster (2003)

Paul Auster is an author from New Jersey (1947). The main character is Sidney Orr, a writer who is recovering from an accident and is struggling to write again. The footnotes take us to secondary histories, and the story as a whole is very interesting. However, the histories starts to be unfinished and little by little I lost a little of the enthusiasm for following the parallel histories even though this form of writing called my attention and it was what I found most interesting in the book. The author talks about the history of a couple and their very close friend. Most of the events happened in the last part of the book, which it is the part where he puts one of the main ideas of the book: the force of the writing, and he refers to it as a premonitions or a destiny. I missed some descriptions of feelings and locations. Paul Auster also writes movies scripts and short-stories.

Shops by India Knight (2003)

After reading “Intimacy” I wanted to read something more “light”. The cover is nice and I didn’t understand what India Knight means, so I was curious. The name of a shop? Shops in India? Well, India Knight is the name of the author, and the book title is only “The shops”. That was my first discover. India born in Brussels and moved to London when she was nine years old. She started her career as journalist. The pleasure of the book is in each page itself. My impressions about it: It’s a book for shop lovers no doubt about it. If you had never been in Paris, London or Brussels, a lot of things that the author says makes not much sense, it’s a bit too local, but on the other hand, sounds nice and it’s an idea for the future. If you had been in those places, than it’s good opportunity to remember. The author seems to have a good mood, so she is funny. It has also a different format, it presents address, sites, shopping suggestion; it has illustration; and it’s an autobiography of specific topics of the author’s life. Why did I like the book? It’s a very pleasant reading, I had good laughs and she has a very funny way to write about life.

Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi (1999)

Some very interesting points of the book proved that “Intimacy” from Hanif Kureishi was a good choice. First it is narrated in first person, which makes the title of the book “Intimacy” really means it. Second it’s not a novel in the traditional sense, but it’s the narrative of a man’s thoughts one day before taking an important decision in his life, which is to finish or not his marriage. Third, it’s like reading someone’s mind. I had a mix of feelings while reading the book. He seemed selfish, cold, egocentric and shallow but also alone, lost and looking for his happiness. For me it seemed very much a male point of view of a marriage, but in the end I cannot say these feelings are exclusively masculine but maybe feelings from the modern times. By the end of the book I tried to understand his feelings through a cultural lens, and then it made more sense to me. Why did I like the book? Three things again. First, I knew a different writing style coming from a very good writer; second, it made me think about a numerous of things such as feelings, relationships, dreams, and so on and third, I do not wish to read anybody’s mind in real life, it might be not as fun as I thought it could be.