What books I've been reading - 2022 (II)
The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition, by Li Zehou. Excellent introduction to the Chinese intellectual-artistic tradition. Li proposes a theory of sedimentation that explains Chinese aesthetics not as a battle between rival schools, but as a refinement of Confucianism through the influences of Zhuangzi, Buddhism, Western tradition…
Le consentement, by Vanessa Springora. A very strong intellectual effort by the author to understand her own trauma, and to explain the climate of tolerance in Paris (in the name of sexual freedom) towards pedophile writers such as Gabriel Matzneff (Springora’s abuser).
Boys in Zinc, by Svetlana Alexievich. Another great book by Alexievich and quite timely to read now when young Russian soldiers are being sent to Ukraine.
Bricks to Babel. Book One: In Search of Utopia, by Arthur Koestler. Both literary non-fiction (life as a Zionist in Israel, then as a Communist in Germany, later as an anti-Communist dissident) and intellectual reflections about these themes. I think in some essays Koestler is better than Orwell (they have a similar profile).
El trato de Argel, by Miguel de Cervantes. Short and intense Cervantes play on slavery, dignity and resistance.
Viaje al sur, by Juan Marsé. A chronicle of Francoist Andalusia, at a time when foreign tourism was thriving. The double standards authorities had with foreign tourists and local Andalusians (and the romantization of poverty and underdevelopment by the tourists) reminded me of today’s careless Western tourists traveling to Cuba. Also, Marsé’s description of the US naval base in Rota reminded me of Vietnam (full of prostitution, poverty, semi-colonialism).
The Right to Sex, by Amia Srinivasan. One of the best woke authors of our time. Srinivasan’s philosophical approach makes you think twice about some sex and gender issues, even if you disagree.
Debajo de la mesa, by Juan Abreu. Excellent memoir by this Cuban writer and dissident. Tough topics such as sexuality and politics are the most obvious ones in the book, but there are also many tender moments of reflection on childhood and family, and also a moving defense of how books and art can save you in a context of (ideological) mediocrity and uniformity.
Cartes de lluny, by Josep Pla. Pla’s defense of the values of freedom and other virtues of Northern Europe. It is curious to read that in the 1920s the Scandinavian countries were already very advanced and had a proto-welfare state. Also, how cities I have been to recently, such as Brussels or Rotterdam, have changed (and sanitized) a lot; and Pla’s wonderful descriptions of Norway’s nature.