Ataraxia

  El Tunel by Ernesto Sabato   “It is enough to tell you that I am Juan Pablo Castel, the painter who killed Maria Iribarne…”   Wow…no spoiler alert, nothing. And there you have it: you know from the start: Who dunnit, who is dead. Why read on, without the alert? Well, on the second page you will be shocked…again. “…in a concentration camp, a pianist complained that he was hungry and they gave him a rat to eat. But Alive.” The feel of the book is very modern. There is a Society of Psychoanalysis and talk about anal masochism”” and words with a genitor-urinary” character. The heroes are cultivated people and discuss the way Tolstoy or Chekhov should be spelled- I guess in Spanish, since we are in Argentina. One other intriguing, interesting aspect was the way the author talks about critics, in his case those who analyze his paintings, for our hero is a painter; we learned that from the first sentence. Why do people allow critics to talk about something they know nothing ab...

  Strangers on a Train- play adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith Intriguing and good adaptation -            What do you do if you meet a lunatic and he entangles you in a serious crime, murder even? -            This is the theme of this thriller As evident from the title, two strangers meet on a train and become acquainted. This is perhaps the first lesson we need to learn so as to avoid being trapped by an apparently innocent stranger: -            Do not start giving away your issues When Guy Haines encounters Bruno Anthony, the men exchange information and then mention their main problems. Guy Haines is married to an unfaithful wife that carries the child of a married lover and not just that, but won’t let go. Bruno Anthony is mad with his father… -            Well, the m...

  The 50 Funniest American Writers according to Andy Borowitz This is such an enjoyable, indeed, funny book, that I have already written, if not fifty, at least twenty notes on it. The short humorous accounts that I have loved have each been separated and enjoyed again when I wrote about them here:  http://realini.blogspot.ro/ On the issue of apology for slavery I have written the last few words, because this is the flash story that ends the book. And in the era of Trump, a man with so much to ask forgiveness for and yet so little inclination that his narcissistic personality becomes ever more obnoxious, the subject of apology and discrimination has seen a recurrence. The Pony Problem by Sloane Crosely is another lovely tale included in this compilation…would you like anything else…water, a cookie, maybe a pony? „And it feels in a way like a pony ride for a child, even if I have seen adults riding ponies and that is not good. Ask the Optimist! By George Saunders raises the que...

  The Caliph, Cupid and The Clock by O'Henry 9 out of 10 Prince Michael, of the Electorate of Valleluna, is one of the heroes of this short story. That is, if he is really the representative of Valleluna, which may or may not even exist. He is sitting on a bench in the park and his appearance will not encourage someone to think of majesty, aristocracy. His beard has three colors in it and the hat looks ludicrous. But we are told by the author that he is as rich as Croesus and he could buy all the buildings that he sees in front of him, in this part of Manhattan. Of course, a reader who has finished a few of the writer's narratives would expect surprises. In another account from this collection that has Cupid in it, the happy end is attributed to the little archer. In fact, at the end we see that it was not Cupid, or not only his influence, but the money that the father spent in order to obtain a major blockage on the streets of New York that gave his son the opportunity to talk...

  If Not an Apology, at Least a “My Bad” by Larry Wilmore In the context of recent clashes in Charlotsville, the ambiguous stands taken by the foolish leader of the free world, the protests surrounding controversial statues, the Black Lives Matter Movement, this is a cery relevant story. It is both humorous and very serious, for it talks about the apology of the federal goverment, that has not arrived at the time when Larry Wilmore wrote it. The very title explains what to expect and contains the jest of putting in the same sentence two apparently similar things: -            „My Bad” and apology This could also be an attempt to anticipate the text, which offers with jocularity a few ways out of the conudrum. States in America have taken different approaches and they vote for different candidates, representing opposite values, as evident in the latest elections, where a fool is obsessed by a „great beautiful wall” and he demonizes v...

  Apology by Plato “The unexamined life is not worth living” -            How can people be so stupid as to kill the best among them? -            Here is the answer Reading the Apology, I was thinking that it takes a lot of gullibility to decide to sentence to death one of the best among your group. -            Could it be that the times were mostly responsible for this? -            With the exception of a few, people had a limited knowledge -            There is the issue of the many gods they believed in… But then I realized that we do this in our day and age, when education is available and information is easy to get. There were two examples, in the recent history of the land I live in. First, the King of Romania. As he tried to c...

  Legend, written- based on the book by John Pearson- and directed by Brian Helgeland A different version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at: -               https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E  and    http://realini.blogspot.ro/ Legend is a film to remember. The actor in the leading role should have been nominated for an Academy Award –and he was, but not for this part. Tom Hardy deserves an Academy Award, for his performances have proved he is a wonderful actor in different types of character. He is: -            John Fitzgerald in The Revenant -            Max Rockatansky in Mad Max -            Ivan Locke in Locke- a very interesting proposal that is carried all along by Tom Hardy In...