Some years ago I read Arturo Pérez-Reverte's 'The Club Dumas' and I enjoyed it a lot --despite finding it too easy and predictably a page-turner. (If you want something depper and brainny try Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum )
What I liked most about it was the way the author developed the situations, making it a non-stop thriller about books. Now, when I started reading 'The Nautical Chart', I was expecting something more or less in this way --something that at least kept me interested me in. Little did I know that the two books share only the same author in common. 'Chart' is much more boring and less interesting than 'Club'.

Supposedly this book takes you to place where many others have taken you before, such as 'Moby Dick', 'Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World', 'Old Man and the Sea' etc. It is about the SEA and the relationship that MAN can have with it. It feels like this link is to be a metaphor, or something like it. It could have been a contender, but it is not. I believe the main fault are the main characters, Coy and Tanger. Question about Coy, like 'what's up with this man?' floated in my mind all the time. And about Tanger, the clear vision I had of her is a spoiled little brat. Not forgetting to mention the 'bad guys'. They couldn't be more cliched. Another thing that spoils the reading is the abundance of details --moreover, useless details. You keep waiting for the story to come, and when it does, you're too tired of reading the details of ships, and sailors' way of life.

But, I still have some faith on Perez-Reverte. Yes, I do. I had so much fun with 'The Club Dumas' that I can't start hating this guy. One of these days I will try another of his books. I only recommend this one to his die-hard fans.

For many reasons, Augusten Burroughs's personal mantra could be Gloria Ganyor's 'I will survive'. It is amazing to see of how much this guy went through and came up a winner. Yes, he is. Living among those people many others could have surrundered and gone crazy.

If his book were fiction, it would be too, well, unbelievable to be true. But since it is Burroughs's memoirs, we do believe in those 'characters' that he brings to his pages. We all know that there is all kind human being out there --even the most strange. So, why not have them all toghether in the same house? If it were fiction we'd say it is strange to have them all in the same place, but it is reality and it is not by chance that so many strange people were gathered in a house.

Burroughs has a powerful voice, and his narrative is dense and funny at the same time. Sometimes we forget how bad that could be living in such an environment, because it seems that he had fun indeed with some things --not everything, of course. 'Running with Scirssors' is one of the best memoirs released lately and it must be discovered to open people's mind and eyes to how really complicated life can be sometimes, but, we can still manage to be a survivor.

Sometimes, we began to read a novel and we don't really know what to expect from
it. We just assume some things beforehand and expect that our assumptions to be
true. When I started reading 'Three Junes' I wasn't sure of what to expect.
Maybe another 'chick lit', or something alike, but I couldn't be more wrong.

'Junes' is a wonderful novel, an impressive debut. It is hard to believe that
this is Julia Glass's first novel, because she has such an use of language and a
confident style that many veteran writers don't have. I read an article on Glass
and she says to be interested in how people manage to survive after having their
heart broken, and that's exactly what she does in the novel. Sooner or later,
every character have their heart broken at least once, and they try to survive
--if they'll be able to accomplish that is another thing. That is where Glass's
power as a writer is. Her creations are very vivid and believable.

The book has its own pace, and the story changes time without much explanation--
what brings a major charm to the novel. The flashbacks come and go, but they
make total sense to what's being told at the moment they pop up. It is a gift
for avid readers to have such a 'slow' novel in this time of disposable and fast
literature. You read word by word and be transported to another time and place,
and you start feeling you know those people, and that they could be your friends
in another life.

Somehow Julia Glass reminds me of Michael Cunnighan --which is a great thing in
my opinion. Of course, each one has his and her own style and peculiarities,
what make their prose unique, but they share a lot in common: mostly a tender
view of some so called 'outsiders' that aren't cool enough to be a beatnik, but
still that can't fit in the common place of society.

My suggestion is be good to yourself, and give your inteligence and good taste
this lovely gem. And mark this name, I believe we will hear a lot more of Julia
Glass. We, readers of prose with quality, deserve that. The National Book Award
is more than deserved!

David Sedaris is a comical genius! His books of essasys 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' is one of the funniest things I've ever read. And not only is it funny, but it is also very witty. His text is so good that you don't want to put it down, because you know that in the next page there will be more laughing coming for you. Moreover, his comments about life, family and being a foreigner are very pertinent and never silly.

There 'characters' --real life people who are related to Sedaris-- are so good that you may believe they were made up, but on the other hand, we know that there are every kind of people around, so the people in the book they do exist. My favorites are his sister Amy, Bonnie(this woman deserves a whole book about her!!), his brother Paul, aka The Rooster (and believe me You Can't Kill the Rooster!). I believe that all these people should be flatered on being in Sedaris's book, because he writes about them with such a passion, that even when he is making fun of them it is impossible to be angry with him.

It is hard to choose one favorite essay because they are all so good, but there are a couple of them that can be pointed out as even better. My favorites are 'Picka Pocketoni' (you have to read to find out what it is!), Go Carolina, The Learning Curve, The City of Light in the Dark and Jesus Shaves. But above all, the essay title Me Talk Pretty One Day is close to perfection. Anyone who has taken a single class of a foreigner language will easily identify him/herself to the story. Everything is there: the student who can understand everything but the most important word in the sentence and is afraid of having to talk, the native teacher to whom everything is obvious, the student who knows 'everything' and is only taking classes to polish his/her language --but, as a matter of fact he/she wants to snob the other ones who know less than him/her-- etc.

My suggestion is: after a hard day, find a confortable armchair, open this book, and have non-stop laughs. And if you read this book and don't laugh, please, go to the doctor, you must have serious problems. Enjoy it! And Congratulations, Sedaris. I'm looking forward to reading more of his writings.

'The Virgin Blue' was written some years before 'Girl with a pearl earring', but was kind of unnotice so far. Not only after the huge success of 'Girl' did 'Virgin' received its deserved attention. The book tells the story of two women that live centuries apart but with something that ties them together throughout the years.

Ella Tourner moves to France with her husband. Alone and with not so many things to do, she decides to investigates her family's origins. Eventually she'll come across Isabelle du Moulin --aka La Rousse. What binds these two woment together?

Since the first chapter we are aware that both lives will change drastically, otherwise there wouldn't be a reason for a novel. Ella will face problems in being accepted by French people; while Isabelle will not be accepted the people form her own village. Both women try to find rendenption in love-- but it may not be the right place.

Chevalier writes with confidence and brings us believable characters with heart and soul. The structure that she uses can be tricky for some writers, but in her hands it is useful --and she does have a point when she alternates the two stories. 'The Virgin Blue' is simple, but at the same time complex. I highly recommend for those who liked 'Girl...'.

It is undeniable that Kate Winslet has courage. Were any other actress in the biggest blockbuster ever --'Titanic'--, she would follow up with another big movie, and become a sort of heroine. But Winslet, no! She doesn't want that. And here she is, in a small movie, with a low budget and with such a peculiar title. She doesn't care, as long as she's doing what she likes-- and by the way, she does it very well.

'Hideous Kinky' tells the story of a British young woman who with her two little daughters leave the boring and grey London and her poet husband to go to a sunny and exotic place in Morocco in the early 70s. Her idea is to find a Sufi guru who will instructs her in the annihilation of Ego. While seeking this man, she falls in love, lives in awful conditions and even has to be apart from one of her daugthers.

Needless to say that Winslet brings all the passion and power that this character needs. Her presence is magic and almost perfect. She is playing the kind of outsider anyone is expecting Winslet to play. It is impossible to imagine any other girl doing this role. Her two daughters are very good too, showing how lost they are in that place that is far from what they've been their whole lives.

The script is based on Esther Freud's novel, and it interesting to think that the source material was written by a descendent of Freud --the man who made the word Ego the mantra of XX century. Another thing that shines in the movie is the soundtrack. Full of songs from the late 60s, it gives the right tone to the story. Not failing to mention the Moroccan song that are terrific! A highly recommended movie, but for specific audiences.

Rohinton Mistry is a gifted writer. With A Fine Balance he proves he can writer about the human soul and social condition with the same love for both aspects of life. Moreover, there aren't many writers around there who can keep readers' attention for more than 600 pages. In 'A Fine Balance' there is something going on in every chapter, and from time to time, a new characters pops up, and he/she is as well developed as those who are presented at page one.

In my opinion, 'Balance' is, among other things, about the social condition overcoming the human codition. Not only are the main characters struggling to survive, but they also need to fight in order not to lose their human condition, and become animals. And, believe me, in their times and place, it was not an easy thing. The book also succeeds when shows how politics interferes in everybody's lives --even in the one who are not interested in that.

'A Fine Balance' is a great book and a wonderful read. But I something weird happened to me when reading it. On one hand I wanted to read it as much as I could, all the time, on the other, once I put it down, I wasn't very excited to get back to it again, but once I got I would read 30, 40 pages in a row. This thing had never happened to me. Maybe because I was scared to find out that no matter how bad life is, it can always get worse. In the book when you think that the characters' lives are bad and there is nothing else to happen to them, think again...

Mistry has written a book for our times. You may not like it, or even understand, but it is impossible to finish it and still think in the same way about life, about being a human being.

'The Rules of Attraction' is the second Bret Easton Ellis novel that I read --the first one was 'American Psycho', that I liked but I had too many troubles reading it, not for the violence, but for all those brands and names of cool places that pop up in every single line. I found 'Rules' much better written and interesting than 'Psycho'.

Ellis writes as someone who knows what he's talking about --and he does know. Growing up in the early 80s was not easy, and the generation who had to face it grew up a very messy one. We're talking about coming-of-age in the time when individualism was the international order -- live for yourself, and forget the others, no matter how much celebrities clamed 'we are the world'. Nobody really cared about the other, in that time the term 'Politically Correct' meant nothing. And in this enviroment Ellis brings some of the most interesting characters of his literature: a group of 20-something who is discovering life. Yes, above all, they are getting in touch with their inner selves, and that's why they are so 'dirty' and mean.

Actually there are no rules when it comes to have sex, everyone does it with everybody --people weren't very aware of AIDS (it was a 'new' disease) so the characters made free love. Everyone is seeking everybody, and it doesn't really mind with whom they will go to bed, as long as they don't go alone. But, you know, there is still some hope. Love may happen when we less expect, but it may not get along well with sex --at least in Ellis's world-- and every character suffers its consequence.

I highly recommend this book, because it is a fun reading. It is impossible to be offended with it, its characters and events -- and it is also impossible to let them go after you finish the book. I'm always wondering what happen to them, and who they are nowadays... this is a question that nobody can answer -- maybe not Ellis himself.

Federico Fellini is a master and it is out of question. It is impossible to watch any of his movies and not to be fascinated --even if you don't like it. His images are dreamy and his stories deal with absurdity as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And it he did like nobody else. This is a genius trademark.

'Roma' is not among his most famous or praised movie, but it doesn't make of this little gem a lesser picture. Rather than a regular filme, with a sequencial narrative, introduction, climax etc, the movie consists in many vignettes in differente periods --past, present-- that is set in Rome. But the main character is the city itself. Things that have made of Rome what it is are there, such as pasta (typical Italian food), the art in the streets (like statues), Catholic religion...

I find it impossible to watch the movie and not be seduced by its beauty and inteligence. The images can be unforgettable. My favorite sequences are the one with the afrescos in the ancient Roman catacomb and the papal fashion show. They are surreal, they are funny, they are unforgetable. Past and present try to live to together in one of the oldest cities in the world, but it may not be possible. Like the old afrescos, the ancient city surrunders to the modernity. Really? Not, sure, because in the end motorcycles and Colosseum can live side by side-- rather than spoling each other, they enhance the other's beauty. And we find out that there is no place like Rome.

Sometimes there is so much hype surrounding a novel, that we have second thoughts on reading it. Well, don't let the hype surrounding 'Everything is Illuminated' put you off. This novel is magic, funny and sad at the same time. It is impossible to deny that Jonathan Safra Foer has talent and he will be (already is ?) one of the finest American Writers --with a deserved Pulitzer coming soon.

Reading his debut we wonder whether it is a fluke or the result of hard work and talent. I would go for the second option. Anyone can notice how hard he laboured every single sentence, the characters, the plot. There are three stories that will meet each other in the end. The first one is a story that's being written by an Ukranian guy called Alex -- his butchered English is one of the funniest things in the novel, and it make the book lighter, what is really good, once it deals with such a depressing subject. His segment is about how he, his grandfather, a she-dog named Sammy Davies Junior, Junior and an American boy named Jonathan Safran Foer went to find the woman who avoided Jonathan's grandfather te be killed by Nazis. The second story is the one written by Jonathan that tells the story of his family, and how it turned out to be what they are. The third segment are Alex's letters to Jonathan, again in a strange English, so to speak, he tells how his own story is developing and gives a lot of opinion on Jonathan's story.

Alex's letters are unforgettable. We can discover a lot about the life of a young Ukranian, his dreams, joys and fears. Reading between the lines, one can easily note that a young person's life is more or less the same everywhere in the world. And this is one of the things that make the book so universal. Jonathan's segment is full of magic --that loosely reminds of Gabriel Garcia Marquez-- and delightful.

This is a wonderful novel that will be read for years to come. A book that has a light in everypage, that illuminates not only the novel, but life itself.