Serena Dandini (photo by Gianmarco Chieregato).
Gthe pipers are almost no longer there, at least in my city, and when by chance I meet them again in some alley my heart softens and the spirit of the holidays moves me againdespite the traffic, the construction sites and the cars in the second row.
Luckily there are always bookshops. This year too they are ready for the big Christmasthat of the important rankings which see the bestsellers rocket to the top and occupy a position of honor under the illuminated tree.
It is good and right to give a book as a gift for Christmasmeanwhile, ties, scarves and various slippers are always more welcome and then you can still change if you have the foresight to accompany it with the saving courtesy receipt.
Nothing to complain about if you have chosen the usual inevitable volume by the famous journalist or the detective story of the moment, they are always safe, but why not dare something less obvious this year? The big publishing houses won’t mind if for once you go fishing in unexplored terrain where – among the big titles that reign supreme – original publications from small creative companies like Hoppipolla editions.
This, like other less famous publishing houses, carries out, often with difficulty and little means, a scouting job of little-known artists and authors who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to get noticed. In particular, Hoppipolla has dedicated herself to the hybridization of narrative forms, trying to bring together the story and the graphic novel, creating original and attractive works that speak of our contemporaneity.
Unforgettable Simone de Beauvoir
“Nothing but a flash. Life of Simone de Beauvoir” by Valeria Carrieri and Cecilia Valagussa (Hoppípolla editions).
Like the volume of Valeria Carrieri and Cecilia Valagussa Nothing but a flash. Life of Simone de Beauvoiran illustrated story that traces some of the salient moments in the life of the indomitable French philosopher and writer. From when she was a child she struggled to find her way amidst a thousand difficulties, to the genesis of The second sexa fundamental work for girls of all ages which, thanks to the authors’ narration, makes you want to reread.
Never before have the new generations needed teachers to turn toand rediscovering in such a captivating way the stages that marked the intellectual path of this great scholar is a great idea. «Women have been dreaming through men’s dreams for too long» wrote de Beauvoir and although decades have passed, unfortunately we still have not managed to free ourselves from this spell.
All articles by Serena Dandini.
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