I start today a new appointment with readers. We called him “The scent of pages” and I’ll tell you why. Have you ever leafed through a book and smelled the scent that the pages spread as you turned them? An earthquake of emotions takes place in that simple and almost instinctive gesture. You will immediately notice the time that has passed since the press, the hands that have leafed through the volume, you will imagine the eyes that have followed the lines, the enthusiasm, the pleasure or disappointment of the readers. Some will also wonder about the sensations that accompany the author as he proceeds to write his work. This is a field in which, after more than thirty years of novels and exposure to publishing, I think I can have my say. What we would like to propose to readers is a slightly different analysis of the titles, made up of anecdotes, impressions, but also simple reviews of old and new writings, with the smell of the pages that permeates from the words of those who write to them .
Saying that little is read in Italy has now become a cliché. We would like to tell you about sensations that only reading can give. Imagine how much freedom lies behind a page. Nobody dictates to you the images you have to process. You can create protagonists with your appearance, places described with your imagination. Here is the miracle of reading: turning on the mind and inducing it to create. And creation is important: only an artist or God have the power to shape reality according to their desires. So we will set out on this common path, trying to tell you little secrets, personal sensations, rumors and editorial mysteries.
I want to start by telling you about the latest work of a friend of mine, an Italian thriller writer known throughout the world. “The education of butterflies” by Donato Carrisi (Longanesi) is a novel that, when you turn off the light – as happened to me – you will not be able to fall asleep because the images will continue to crowd your mind, disrupting your attempts to fall asleep. Then you will pick up the volume again (430 pages) to see how it ends, but above all in search of that nocturnal tranquility that is necessary for you to face your daily life.
It is the story of Serena, an inflexible woman when she operates with unscrupulousness in the world of high finance, but who stumbles upon the most common feeling: the love of every mother. As stated, however, on the back cover. “By the time you find out the truth, it will be too late to escape from this story.” I have to admit that it’s true. But I promised you some curiosities. Do you know what Donato Carrisi confided to me years ago? That he realized he was writing “scary” stories when, when he went to Puglia to visit his parents, they locked themselves in a double-locked room!
