Summer Book Recommendations

Sesto Fiorentino Mayor Lorenzo Falchi likes detective stories. “My first advice book is ‘La battaglia navale’ by Marco Vivaldi, one of my favourite Italian detective story author”, says Falchi. “Then I’d advise a book that I just began to read, ‘Controllo Assoluto’ by Luca Bandini, a writer from Sesto Fiorentino who is died in 2015. His wife Sonia gave me as a gift her husband’s book during a recent meeting in which we talked about the Detective Books Club, that she supports and promotes”, Falchi said. Vice Mayor Damiano Sforzi, too, likes the detective fiction genre. His advice book is “Quello che non uccide” by David Lagercrantz. Assessor Camilla Sanquerin prefers more committed reading: “La vita davanti a sé” by Romain Gary, a book which deals with most contemporary themes, such as euthanasia, prostitution, the post-Holocaust, immigration and aging. Assessor Diana Kapo, instead, gives two titles: “Di questo amore non si deve sapere” by Ritanna Armeni, which tells of Lenin’s romance with Inessa Armand, and “La libreria del buon romanzo” by Laurence Cossé, a kind of intellectual thriller. Assessor Donatella Golini also advises two titles: “Il posto” by Annie Arnaux, and “Trilogia della Pianura” by Kent Haruf, which tells the stories of families in a small (fictional) town in eastern Colorado. Assessor Massimiliano Kalmeta selects the trilogy of the Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafón: “L’ombra del vento”, “Il gioco dell’angelo”, and “Il prigioniero del cielo”. Assessor Marco Becattini gives several advices: “L’altro capo del filo” by Andrea Camilleri, the last of the series featuring the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian detective in the police force of Vigàta, a fictional Sicilian town; then “La lettrice scomparsa” by Fabio Stassi, and, finally, “Questa non è una canzone d’amore” by the satirical journalist Alessandro Robecchi. Assessor Silvia Bicchi starts with the children’s fiction of Roald Dahl: “Il GGG” and/or “Il grande ascensore di cristallo”, for then suggesting the adults’ childlike “Calore” by Budford Bill, and the passionate “La prima verità” by Simona Vinci. The President of City Council Ivan Moscardi finally advises the crucial book “Loro diranno, noi diciamo” by Gustavo Zagrebelsky, the Manifesto for all those who are struggling to save the Constitution of the Italian Republic by the assault of those who denied the Libreria Rinascita Sesto Fiorentino its stand at the upcoming Festa de l’Unità in Florence.

Sesto Fiorentino governing body
Photo: firenze.repubblica.it

Inclusion–exclusion principle

After 24 years of uninterrupted participation, the PD (Democratic Party) denied the Libreria Rinascita Sesto Fiorentino its stand at the Festa de l’Unità to be held at the Cascine Park in Florence from 20 August to 11 September. The historic bookshop will be replaced with the Libreria Clichy, selected on the occasion as partner bookseller. The owners of the Rinascita bookshop took their exclusion badly, and in a vitriolic statement posted on their Facebook account they alleged to have been unfairly penalized by the PD’s leaders for the support given by them to left-wing Mayor candidate Lorenzo Falchi – rather than to PD’s candidate – at the recent mayoral election in Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy.