Celestial Bodies - Jokha Alharthi

This is a rare novel, a novel by a writer from Oman, and a woman writer at that.  It recounts the life of several interconnected families in the latter half of the 20th C in a small village.  There are a number of social observations which are interesting to see:
- the power and importance of the father in a family, even as the sons themselves age and become fathers
- insight into the woman's universe, so separate from that of the men - this takes up a lot of the book
- the institution of slavery and its persistent ramifications after it is finally banned
- the beginnings of rebellion as young people leave despite family disapproval to work in bigger cities or even other countries
- various attitudes towards love and marriage, some highly pragmatic, some impossibly idealized and dreamy

The book is narrated in short bits and passages as the author passes from one character to another and one social position to another.  It works because it is broken up, though I found the end a bit too choppy.

Pinocchio - Roberto Benigni

E veramente un film di bambini.  La storia di Pinocchio finalmente è una storia morale del genere ottocento.

Benigni ha una tecnica meravigliosa, si riconosce, ma magari quello stile di recitazione non è molto apprezzato da me.  Non ho più il gusto del 'slapstick' e del 'gag'.

Roma - Fellini

     Questo film mi piace molto!  Mostra una vecchia Roma che è ormai sparito.  La Roma di quartieri e di vita comune.  Nel film si può vedere questo cambiamento.  Nelle scene degli anni 30 mostra la vita comune negli appartamenti a camere in affito e nelle piazze dove si mangia e si beve insieme.  Le scene della Roma moderna mostra soltanto traffico - la lunga introduzione sulla l'autostrada verso Roma, e anche nell'ultima scena famosa con la banda di motociclisti  che di notte fanno il tour dei monumenti di Roma.  C'è anche le scene coi giovani, i 'hippies' chi hanno sempre una specia di vita in comune, ma che non sono apprezzati dagli autorità civili.  

   Sarebbe anche interessante di riflettere un po' sull'aspetto di film dentro il film.  Ci sono scene dove Fellini filma la gente che sta facendo il film stesso.  Fa la stessa cosa in suo film 'I Clown'.  

Requiem - Antonio Tabucchi

Romanzo di fantasia.  Raconta un giorno e una notte di qualcuno chi viene a Lisboa per incontrare un amico.  Fa diversi incontri con la gente - tassista, zingara, due amici morti, il suo padre giovanotto, la sua moglie morta.  La storia si svolge in ristoranti, in un bordello, in un cimitero, nelle strade.  Ha una qualità onirica molto riuscita.  Fa pensare a Borges, anche al Inferno nel fatto che il protagonista incontra e interroga i suoi morti.
Come Sostiene Pereira, a raccomandare...

Alain Tanner ne ha fatto un film ma sembra introvabile...

Manège - Rodrigo Rey Rosa

Another novel by the Guatemalan novelist.  Less interesting than African Shores.  Basically a crime novel, but not very suspenseful.  Includes similar elements - crime, perversion, dark elements.  Bit of a story within a story happening.  Storyline itself is not strong enough to hold it together.  Could be read as a social critique of the rich and powerful families of Guatemala, which is portrayed as essentially a mafia zone...

Is There Anybody to Love You? Kalin Terziyski

Collection of short stories by a Bulgarian author, mostly set in Sophia.  The stories are all a little odd - funny situations, unexpected endings, quirky twists.  It would be interesting to read more by him but there is not much translated.

Agent Running in the Field - John LeCarré

Another great book by this author.  The contemporary issues underlying this current book are both very topical and demonstrate more perception than current media or public awareness.
1 - how the English elite, and particularly the London financial system, has turned into an enabler for, and profits hugely from, vast sums of money coming out of criminal regimes and being parked for security in London banks and property.  Particularly from Eastern Europe.  Le Carré's point is that this lucrative relationship has started to colour and control England's diplomatic and international agenda.

2 - the possibility of a U.S. England alliance designed to destabilize and ultimately destroy the E.U. as an institution through fake news, provocations, support for far right groups.  This idea is highly plausible.  Brexiteers see the E.U. as a threat to their agenda.  Trump and the American Right see the E.U. as an economic and political threat in an arena where for the past fifty years they have controlled the playing field.  The Anglo socio-political world view - every man for themselves, wealth as a legitimizer of power - stands in opposition to the E.U.'s more socialist leanings.  Just as the West once stood as a stark contrast to the ugliness of the Soviet regime, Europe's more humane and inclusive politics stand in stark contrast to the growing social ugliness of the Anglo political world.  In a sense, the U.S. and England are now on the same side as Putin in relation to the E.U.   Another interesting little aside in the novel is the author's comment that Trump says the things about the E.U. that Putin can't say as he attempts to weasel his way deeper into the economics and politics of the region.

This is LeCarré's most disturbing book so far, from the point of view of issues he examines.  I suppose because the central conflict is entirely located within what would have formerly been seen as the Free World.  It suggests that, rather than having disappeared with the fall of the Soviet Union, the rot has in fact spread into Europe and the U.S..