"It was a dark temple, a labyrinth of galleries with high shelves full of books, a huge hive from the tunnel path, steps, platforms and scaffolding: a huge library on the geometry impossible. "[...]" Welcome to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Daniel [...] This place is a mystery, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see has a soul, the soul of who wrote it and the souls of those who read it, of those who lived and those who have dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time a new look it skims the pages, its spirit gains strength. [...] According to tradition, those who come here for the first time should choose a book and adopt it, pledging to keep it forever, to keep it alive. [...] I wandered in the maze that smelled of old paper, dust, and magic for half an hour. I let my hand touch the back of the books arranged in long rows, entrusting my choice to the touch. [...] I flashed the thought in mind that behind every cover is concealed an infinite universe to explore, and that out of there, people waste time listening to soccer games and soap operas on the radio, pay its mediocrity. I do not know if it depended on these reflections, by chance or by his noble relative, the fate, but at that moment I was sure he had found the book that I would have adopted, or rather, the book that would take me. Leaned shyly from a shelf, bound in leather alley, with the title embossed in gold letters on the back. Caressed the words with the tips of fingers and read in silence. Julian Carax, The Shadow of the Wind. I knew neither the title nor the author, but I did not care. It was an irrevocable decision, by both parties. I took the book and leafed through it carefully: its pages quivered like the wings of a butterfly that is returned to freedom. "
From this moment a series of captivating plots led me to read a" crazy and desperate '. It is one of those books in which the succession of stories and intriguing events and places described and involves clearly appear in the imagination. The large number of characters, flashbacks and stories in the story manages to be appreciated even by those who, like me, it takes a while 'to store the names of people, streets and places.
Two suggestions re-emerged in my mind while reading this book I want to share.
The first is the old library in my country and its way of cataloging the books on loan. Unlike today (the label with the bar code facilitates a series of transactions), when I was young the last page of the books had a small pocket inside which there was a note card on which was stamped with the stamp start date of the loan which was next to the signature of the person who "adopted" the text for a limited period of time. In addition to observing the image on the cover, read the synopsis, just how many pages and ask about the title and author was normal practice to give readers a peek at that before I chose that book. Some were my friends, other friends of my brothers, acquaintances and even then there were other names of people who do not evoke in me any pictures. The popularity of a book depended on the number of signatures on the card and I liked to know who had contributed to "keep alive" that story before me.
The second suggestion is the image of Barcelona, \u200b\u200bwhich is set in "The Shadow of the Wind." Le passeggiate per La Rambla, il Tibidabo, il suo essere città di mare, il ristorante “Los Caracoles”, il clima ospitale, la sangria e la paella, i colori e i profumi del mercato di Sant Josep meglio noto come mercato de La Bouqueria sono alcuni degli elementi che, a mio avviso, rendono questa città accogliente e solare. A ciò si aggiunge l’aspetto più commerciale: regno di Zara, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius & co. è la patria dello shopping low cost e del divertimento. Accanto a locali storici e tipici non manca l’Hard Rock Cafè in Plaça de Catalunya che proprone Caesar Salad e Hamburger imperdibili!
Buona lettura,
A.
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