Stefano Costa finished reading Annibale by Paolo Rumiz (I narratori / Feltrinelli)
Rather embarrassing nostalgic and sexist account of Hannibal's story and current memory in Italy and beyond.
Reviews and Comments
I'm an archaeologist, I love to read speculative fiction and feminist works (and why not both?), particularly from Africa.
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Stefano Costa reviewed Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin
In this final episode of "The Earthsea Cycle", the widowed Tenar finds and nurses her …
short review of Tehanu
5 stars
Content warning some spoilers about the end
This book was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It was heartbreaking because there is a constant violence against the poor little girl, and she seems to suffer so much. But then things turn to a positive outcome at the end, and she speaks to Kalessin and calls Ged and Tenar her father and mother (when there where just hints of Tenar thinking of her as "adoptive daughter"). I was feeling joy while reading those pages. At the fourth book in the series, I think I see a kind of tidal cycle between male- and female-focused stories. Books 1 and 3 were pretty much male-focused and books 2 and 4 are strongly female-focused. It's explicit, the Place of the Tombs of Atuan has no men, only eunuchs. In "Tehanu" the female perspective is weaved in almost every page, both in the grand scheme of things and the everyday life. I couldn't help noticing a Christian analogy for the final scene when Kalessin says that Tehanu is their daughter, given to Ged and Tenar who should care for her - but it's Tehanu who chooses to stay and help them. So it's actually a radically different approach than the Christian God.
Stefano Costa reviewed Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the …
a classic
5 stars
I read this classic just two years ago. It felt more relevant to the present than it may have been when it was written. This book is a revolutionary milestone in speculative fiction and probably feminist literature as well, but I found equally interesting that the text is based on progressive loss of innocence. The final chapter is incredible and left me very satisfied.