Pescirossi e pescicani - di Sandro Di Domenico

Uscendo un po' dalla mia comfort zone (fiction), mi sono buttata senza neppure saperlo su un libro di attualità. L'autore di Pescirossi e pescicani e' Sandro Di Domenico, giornalista freelance, preso da diversi anni dalle gesta dell'armatore Messina e delle sue navi Jolly. 

Quella di Di Domenico è una indagine giornalistica finita con un quasi niente di fatto all'epoca del punto di partenza del suo libro, un incidente che coinvolge la Jolly Grigio e un peschereccio, il Giovanni Padre. L'incidente aveva portato alla morte di due pescatori e ad un processo dal risultato sorprendente, se non deludente. Scavando nel passato della compagnia Messina e delle sue Jolly (spesso veri e propri catorci, usati insicuri), l'indagine di Di Domenico rivela serie di incidenti simili o peggiori per numero di morti e/o danni ambientali e processi che, in maniera molto analoga, puniscono sempre al ribasso o non colpiscono mai i veri colpevoli. 

E da questi incidenti il passo a ciò che - indisturbato persino dal COVID - transita su mari e oceani a nostra insaputa (e non sempre con scopi puliti) è davvero breve.

Una lettura agile, senza fronzoli, di denuncia, di pulci nelle orecchie, di sassolini tolti dalle scarpe ma anche di tributo a chi è morto in nome dell'interesse maggiore degli armatori, delle mafie e di chissà chi altri.

La compagnia Messina, assorbita da un grande gruppo, non esiste più. E credo che sia per questo che l'autore ha potuto ora scrivere tranquillamente di quei (mis)fatti. Per capirne il perche' non vi resta che leggere il libro!

Coming out soon: Swimming to Freedom - by Kent Wong

550 thousands, according to unofficial records, is the number of freedom swimmers who, during the Seventies in China, tried to cross the strait between mainland China (Guangdong Province) and Hong Kong in an attempt to reach freedom and a better future from the one the Maoist regime was shaping for them. 

The swimmers were mainly young people, youth who had been deprived of the right to an education by the Cultural Revolution, but who still had dreams. Because of those dreams, they decided to swim.

Swimming to Freedom by Kent Wong (Adams Press)
To be released in April, 2021

Kent Wong was one of them. Born in 1948, he has decided to tell his story now, after so many years. It was not an easy decision to take, but read the book and you will agree with me that it was the right one. His memoir, which talks about himself and his family, is also about a piece of Chinese history that few people know of. It is a tribute to those who made it but also to those who perished while trying. There are no records whatsoever of them. 

Kent tried twice before succeeding on his third attempt to escape mainland China and the regime. Some swimmers made it on the first attempt, some made it after several. Some, as I said, did not make it at all. Some swam, some other built rafts or looked for local fishermen's help. 

After getting safely to Hong Kong, Kent worked there for about one year before migrating to the United States, of which he is today a proud citizen. He was able to reunite all of his family there, in Seattle, but he has never forgotten his Chinese origins. 

"For us, America has become are new home, our only home where we have rooted our family trees. But we still love Cantonese food more than American food, still care about our parents, ad still drive our children to excel, often excessively. We just can't help it."

In this book, he recounts his youth on the background of Communist China in the making. He tells it from the point of view of a person whose life and family were deeply affected by what the government and the party were deciding for their people, experimenting on their people, hiding from their people. His temperament was quite nervous when young and for him it was difficult to accept the reality, the blind support and love given to Chairman Mao by so many Chinese. He tried to avoid conflict as much as possible, since after his father's forced exile, he was the only man in the house, left to watch over his Mommy and his 4 sisters. He was a witness of the Red Guards' rise and folly, of the fight between different factions and of how Mao's plan partly worked but somehow got out of his control. The way the Red Guards behaved brings to mind the kids in Lord of the Flies: leave a group of children without guide and they will probably get wild, not stopping, not even in front of death - until they are tired of their game and get on with a new one.

It is a very interesting reading, a book I do recommend, to all of those who have an interest in Chinese modern history but also to those who simply enjoy a good book, whatever its content.

Non superare le dosi consigliate - di Costanza Rizzacasa d'Orsogna

Matilde ha 44 anni e pesa 130 chili, quasi 131.
Come tante persone obese, preferisce stare chiusa in casa, evitare i contatti sociali, sfuggire agli sguardi pietosi, curiosi o giudicanti della gente, o evitare osservazioni e consigli non richiesti di perfetti sconosciuti. Ecco cosi' che tutto viene ordinato da fuori: dalla colazione al bar alla spesa. Solo i medicinali non li ordina online. E' dipendente dal Dulcolax, vecchio vizio che le ha lasciato la mamma ormai morta, e dall'Eutirox per la tiroide, che si e' autoprescritta perche' ha sentito dire che fa dimagrire.
E naturalmente ricorre spesso alla menzogna, inventando scuse, malattie e urgenze per non incontrare chi la conosce. Forse mente anche al lettore, su tanti piccoli particolari che non combaciano mai a distanza di poche pagine. E poi scuse, tante scuse... l'obesita' frutto del rapporto coi genitori, delle molestie subite da bambina e, in seguito, degli uomini sbagliati incontrati nella vita. Ma sono davvero scuse o e' un modo per spiegare una patologia spesso guardata con disprezzo, di cui non si capisce o non si vuole capire la complessita'? Sta a noi dare una risposta a questa domanda, al di la' di quello che ci mostra Matilde.

Matilde e' l'alter ego di Costanza Rizzacasa d'Orsogna, l'autrice di Non superare le dosi consigliate. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                Non superare le dosi consigliate                                     di Costanza Rizzacasa d'Orsogna (Guanda)

 

C'e' molto di autobiografico in questo romanzo-denuncia-memoir, in cui si coglie non solo la personalita' dell'autrice, ma anche la sua mano: la mano di una persona che ha studiato scrittura (e' laureata in scrittura creativa alla Columbia University e fa la giornalista di mestiere, proprio come Matilde). 

Un po' destabilizzante il continuo saltare da una parte all'altra, da un ricordo all'altro, da un giudizio al suo opposto (la mamma era una persona disturbata? le voleva bene? l'ha rovinata? e il padre?). L' ho potuto apprezzare messo nella duplice ottica del binge eating che si riflette in questa specie di  binge writing e dell'esercizio che fanno fare gli psicologi, quando chiedono al paziente di scrivere a ruota libera la propria vita. E quando si e' finito, il quaderno che si e' riempito puo' essere chiuso, buttato, bruciato. O riesumato anni dopo per farne un libro - come questo. E Matilde/Costanza non e' estranea alle frequentazioni con gli psicologi.

E' un libro che sembra quasi un flusso liberatorio per chi lo ha scritto e che forse, al primo impatto, lascia poco - se non la sensazione, a tratti scomoda, di avere spiato dietro una tenda molto intima. E' la riflessione che ne segue, giorno dopo giorno, a renderlo piu' accattivante, ma anche a servire da monito su cio' che non andrebbe fatto. Gli errori che commette Matilde possono servire  a chi soffre dei suoi stessi disturbi come esempio negativo. E poi ci sono gli errori che commettiamo noi, spettatori/lettori e probabilmente amici e/o parenti di persone che soffrono di disturbi dell'alimentazione. 

The Creak on the Stairs - by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir is talked about as the new kid on the block of Icelandic thriller writers. Is she up to the task? With only one novel in her pocket, the answer is not  easy. But it is an award winning one, so I took some time out of my quite busy reading&writing schedule to give it a go.

Elma comes back to little, quiet Akranes after some years spent working with Reykjavik police. To bring her back is a personal event that will be explained during the course of the story. It is a pity that the explanation comes at the cost of the pact of trust between writer and reader, but let's put this aside for one minute.

Arkanes being a little "quiet place" becomes object of discussion, though, when the sea reveals the body of an apparently unknown woman. It's only Elma's careful investigation - fortunately she is not distracted by connections in town like the chief of the local police - to dig slowly up the secrets that are somehow always nested in provincial towns. In this respect, it's really a small world, because provincial life is the same in Iceland like in (my) Italy.

The story makes a pleasant reading, and the solution to the crime is not a simple one. The homicide might be just one, but the tragic events of the past and the crime committed along the way are multiple. The formula adopted of coming and going from past to present, alternating chapters, is well performed and very congenial to the plot. 

I think that if you choose to read a thriller set in Iceland it has also something to do with the unusual setting. At least, this is one of the reasons for me. The author here gives us a chance to know something about her island. Yes, there is crime. And yes. There is traffic!

There are some imperfections in the narration, including a very slow pace at the beginning (I mean too slow, but keep reading, it gets definitely better), the violation of the pact I mentioned above (I understand building tension but you cannot do that through cheating your reader so ouvertly) and some threads left open at the end. These loose ends are not of the type letting you wondering after finishing the book, but of the disappointing type. Not all the bad guys are brought to justice, for example. And this is not acceptable, given that we are talking about serious crime here (i.e., pedophilia).

But I hear that the author is working on a new book and I do hope it will be another episode of Elma's adventures, because I do intend to read on and check if she is satisfying my curiosity and thirst for justice.  

 

Published by Orenda Books

                                       
 

Creative writing: Foe by J. M. Coetzee

Susan Barton lands on an island in the middle of the ocean after a mutinee takes place on board the ship she is travelling on from Brazil. This particular island is not deserted. It's the kingdom of 60-year-old Cruso, a silent man who has lived here for many years after a shipwreck together with his man slave, named Friday. 

Nobody can tell how many years Cruso has spent on the island, not even himself - not having kept a record of the passing of time. He has not saved any useful tool from the shipwreck - just a small knife. He has not kept a journal of his adventures for future generations. What adventures, then, since he just moves stones to terrace the island, hoping to see some day a ship pass by and leave some seeds to plant? Why, it is not indeed Cruso's dream to leave the island, he doesn't even attempt to do it. And Friday just does what he is told to, uttering no sound. Somebody cut his tongue out.

I can see faces perplexed about this recounting of the life of the most famous castaway in the history of literature. Is this the very same adventurous Crusoe by Daniel Defoe? Is it the same Friday, who learnt English from his master and became a Christian?

It's Susan Barton who gets saved, with Friday, and dreams of passing on her, their stories. To do so, she contacts a man of letter, Mr. Foe. Can her story work? With a woman as protagonist? With just one cannibal, dumb Friday? No hordes of cannibals, no pistols saved from the wreckage to use against attacks? No attempts to build a ship to leave the island with?
It is by this line of reasoning that questions start, and not about the plot itsself. What is, for example, the task of the Writer: telling the truth?
 "It is not whoring to entertain other people's stories and return them to the world better dressed"

 Pleasing the reader?
More is at stake in the history you write, I will admit, for it must not only tell the truth about us but please its readers too.

The castaways' tales are just an excuse for a more philosophical approach, to talk about writing, the Writer, his creative power, inspiration, words and the unspoken. And those initials on a trunk, M. J. Who do they belong to? Is it maybe Coetzee's inverted initials, to confirm his presence, puppet master and god of his characters? (May it not be that God continually writes the world, the world and all that is in it?)

Susan slowly becomes clearly a Muse for the writer, even though the creative act is joked about: 

And he gave me sixpence, which, though no great payment for a visit from the Muse, I accepted

The book is full of innuendo on how to write. Were it not so complicated at times, it reads almost as a creative writing manual. As creative writing teachers tell us, storytelling responds to an urge to tell our stories:  

Without desire how is it possible to make a story?

 They also say that not everything must be really told:

In every story there is a silence, some sight concealed, some word unspoken, I believe

Foe by JM Coetzee (first published in 1986)

The re-telling of Crusoe's adventures takes up only a mere 20% of the books. The rest is another thing. Should you be looking for some Stevenson's style approach, you have definitely landed on the wrong shores.

Cucina veloce: barrette con fiocchi d'avena e frutta secca

E' piena estate. A nessuno va molto di accendere il forno.

Se avete voglia di un dolce veloce e sano da assemblare, con l'aiuto di due soli elettrodomestici (mixer e frigorifero), questa ricetta fa per voi.

Procuratevi:

185gr di fiocchi d'avena fini                                                        

1 cucchiaino di cannella in polvere         

1/2 cucchiaino (scarso) di sale fino

200gr di frutta secca a piacere

170gr di miele

120gr di olio di cocco

   

Mischiate in una ciotola capace i fiocchi d'avena, la cannella e il sale.

Preparate la vostra frutta secca, tritandola a pezzetti con l'aiuto del mixer. Io ho usato nocciole tostate, pinoli, noci, semi di lino, semi di papavero, mandorle spellate. 

Andate ad unire la frutta secca ai fiocchi d'avena, mescolate e poi unite la parte liquida. Mischiate bene, fino ad assorbimento.

Foderate una teglia rettangolare (28x18cm) di carta da forno, avendo cura di ricoprire anche i bordi.

Versate la miscela e, con l'aiuto del dorso di un cucchiaio, compattate e livellate.

Ricoprire il tutto con pellicola e lasciate in frigo per una notte. Tagliatelo in quadrati o rettangoli a piacere e continuate e conservarlo in frigo, ricordando che sopra i 20 gradi di temperatura l'olio di cocco si scioglie! 

Se non volete quindi usare l'olio di cocco, potete utilizzare invece burro di arachidi o di mandorle. 

Coming out soon: The End of Her by Shari Lapena

When I saw this book on Edelweiss, I thought "why not?"

Shari Lapena has a solid reputation as a thriller author, so I had high expectations about it.

The first problem was with the plot: psycho ex- lover (and blonde, of course) coming back to bring hell to the lives of a young and rich American couple? Already heard of it.

That is what happens here. Erica is a fatal blonde, with no murderous instinct, but  she would be ready to do almost anything for money. From blackmail to stalking, up to pushing someone else towards murder. The tension underlying the narration is actually just much ado about nothing. There is no real coup-de-theatre here to surprise the reader. You can guess how it will end from the start almost.

Let's get this straight. The book actually kept me wondering and reading on, thanks to a fast pace and a continuous change of perspective. I also appreciated the way Lapena built an adverse feeling in me towards Erica. I really hated her. But that is not enough to hide the lack of ingenuity in the plot and the feeling that, somewhere towards the end, the author didn't actually know how to close it all.

The funniest part for an old-Europe observer like me was the setting: New York, a residential suburb, where wives are mothers at any cost, spending their time between sitting at the park and sharing cakes or lasagna and trying to get some rest from childcare (Stephanie's twins are actually more evil than badass Erica somehow, but it would be unfair to kill them....while Erica....), while their husbands have great careers to follow and maybe some lover on the side. Just amazing how there is no baby sitter around .... ;)