THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL

 

The  Greatest Love of All is a song  by Whitney Houston  dating back to 1986. This song was actually written in 1977 by  Michael Masser and Linda Creed. Linda Creed wrote this tune while she was fighting against breast cancer.

In fact, this song talks about the importance of self-love and encourages listeners to take time to learn to accept and care for themselves.

ART & MEDICINE

 

Did you know that in many sculptures or portraits we can recognise diseases and syndromes? This is what I’d like to show you in this post. Ready for our art lesson about medicine?  

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

 

  

 

The Dark Side of the Moon is an album by the British rock band Pink Floyd. This album was published for the first time on 1^st March 1973. It's one of the most listened albums of all time: it stayed in rank for 741 weeks.

DE PROFUNDIS: OSCAR WILDE ON LOVE

 

 
 De Profundisis a long letter written by Oscar Wilde in 1897.

Oscar Wilde wrote this letter while he was jailed for sodomy and the addressee of this letter is Lord Alfred Douglas, Bosie, his lover.

BLOWING IN THE WIND

 

Blowin’ in the wind is a song written and sung by Bob Dylan dating back to 1963. In the lyrics the author asks some important and powerful questions, despite his singing voice is calm and relaxed. 

Bob Dylan wrote this song during the war in Vietnam. Its main theme   is the cruelty and uselessness of every war.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: THE TIME OF INDIFFERENCE

 

 

The Time of Indifference is a novel written by Alberto Moravia and published for the first time in 1929.

This book talks about the bourgeois Ardengo family. Mariagrazia Ardengo, a widow, has two children: Carla and Michele. Moreover, she has had a lover, Leo Merumeci, for 15 years.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH BY LEV TOLSTOY

 

The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a novel written by Lev Tolstoy and published in 1886.

This book starts with the death of Ivan Ilyich, a member of the appeals court. His colleagues, hearing of his death, do not show displeasure. Actually, everyone hopes to take his place.

Pëtr Ivanovich, one of the protagonist’s friends, proves to be insensitive to his death. Indeed, while he is taking part in Ivan’s funeral, he thinks about the card game he is missing.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

 

To Kill a Mockingbird is a bildungsroman and crime novel written by Harper Lee and published in 1960, which in the same year the Pulitzer Prize.

The protagonist and the narrator of this book is Jean Louise Finch, a child nicknamed Scout. She and her brother Jem, orphans of their mother, live in Maycomb (in Alabama) with a dark-skinned governess, Calpurnia, and their father, the lawyer Atticus Finch.  

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: THE LITTLE PRINCE

 

The Little Prince is a fable written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and published in 1943. The book starts with the meeting between an aviator, fallen onto the Sahara desert, and a child, the little prince of an asteroid called B-612.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: FRANZ KAFKA, THE METAMORPHOSIS

 

 The Novel

The Metamorphosis is an allegorical novel by Franz Kafka, published in 1915.

The protagonist of this book, Gregor Samsa, is a travelling salesman. He lives with his sister Grete, his mother and his father, a very strict man (probably inspired by Kafka’s father).  

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: ONE, NO ONE AND ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND

 

 

One, No One and One Hundred Thousand is a psychological novel written by Luigi Pirandello. This story was published in instalments in 1925 in the magazine “La Fiera Letteraria” and, as an integral volume, in 1926.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER

 

The Sorrows of Young Werther is an epistolary novel written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and published in 1774.

The protagonist is Werther, a bourgeois young man. He decides to move to Walheim to restore the inner balance he feels lost; here he feels connected to nature. Meanwhile, he sends letters to his friend Wilhelm.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: AGNES GREY BY ANNE BRONTE

 

 

Agnes Grey is a novel published in 1847 and written by Anne Brontë, the younger sister of Charlotte and Emily Brontë.

Agnes Grey, the protagonist of Anne’s novel,  is a girl who has grown in a happy family, in contrast to the protagonists of Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë)  and Wuthering Heights (by Emily Brontë), her sisters’ masterpieces. Her dad is a minister, while her mum is woman who has given up her prosperity for love.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: MARINA BY CARLOS RUIZ ZAFON

 

 

Marina is a gothic novel written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and published for the first time in 1999.

This book tells about Oscar Drai and his adventure. At the beginning, Oscar recalls one of his memories, something happened to him fifteen years before, which he has pretended to forget.

“I didn’t realise then that sooner or later the ocean of time brings back the memories we submerge in it”

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: ANIMAL FARM BY GEORGE ORWELL. SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

 

Animal Farm

Animal Farm is an allegoric and satirical short novel written by George Orwell (pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair) and published in 1945.

The story tells about a rebellion in Manor Farm by the animals who live there. The owner of the farm, Mr Jones, mistreats his animals. At this point, Old Major, the eldest pig, tired about this situation, says that he has dreamt a life without human beings where animals lived in peace and where they were happier. Therefore, he incites other animals to rebel against Mr Jones’ tyranny.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: WHITE NIGHTS BY FEDOR DOSTOEVSKIJ

 

 White nights is a short novel written by Fëdor Dostoevskij and published for the first time in 1848. This novel is set in Saint Petersburg during those summer days, when the sun sets after 22:00.

The story is told in first person. In this way, the reader lives the same turmoil and the same fears as the protagonist. In addition, the fact that the author does not describe physically the protagonist and does not say his name, ensure the reader can relate and identify with him better.

ANGELICA'S BOOKS: JANE EYRE BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE

Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre (2011)

 Jane Eyre is a book published in 1847 by Charlotte Brontë aka Currer Bell (she chose a male pseudonym to publish her books since it was considered improper for women). It is a Bildungsroman novel with Gothic elements. The original title was Jane Eyre: an autobiography. Actually, in the novel, there are many autobiographical elements and Jane Eyre’s life has some features in common with the author’s life.

SAINT BENEDICT'S MONASTERY AND THE SACRO SPECO

 

 

If you come to my hometown, Subiaco, which is not far from Rome, you can't miss visiting a very special place, St Benedict's Monastery both for its stunning beauty and for its historical relevance. 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS (WAR IS OVER)

 

Happy Christmas (War Is Over) is a song written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was published on 6^th December 1971 on the B-side of a record, with, on the A-side, Listen the snow is falling, written by Yoko Ono. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) is one of the most important and best known Christmas songs.

The authors recorded this song as a protest against the war in Vietnam and they wanted to attract interest on it. The war had started in 1955, sixteen years before and it would continue until 1975.

In that war the USA used chemical weapons such as napalm, a substance, containing petrol, which can cause serious burns. This incendiary mixture killed a lot of people and it made the war incredibly bloody.

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND

 

The shadow of the wind is a gothic novel by the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, published in 2001. This book is part of a tetralogy with The Angel’s game, The Prisoner of Heaven and The labyrinth of Spirits.

The story of the book

The book speaks about Daniel’s adventure. In 1945 in Barcelona, the owner of a  bookshop decides to show his son Daniel Sempere “The Cemetery of The Forgotten Books”, a place where the people bring out-of-print books to save them. There, Daniel Sempere discovers a book called The shadow of the wind by Julian Carax. This book captures Daniel’s imagination.

He wants to know Carax and so he investigates about him. He discovers that his copy is the last one because a mysterious figure called Laìn Coubert wants to destroy Carax’s works. In Carax’s story, Laìn Coubert is the name of the Devil.

He discovers a “damned” story, impossible loves and a macabre secret. This is a story where Daniel finds out uncannily resemblances with his life.

During the research, he knows many characters such us Fermín Romero de Torres, who will become his best friend, Gustavo Barcelo and his niece Clara, whom he will fall in love with, and inspector Fumero, who will be his enemy.

The shadow of the wind is the most important and most popular of Zafón’s books.