Brida - Paulo Coelho

Finally a book that I enjoyed the end very much

Although the write is Brazilian like myself, I read the book in English thus in English my comments shall be

It is a lovely book that talks about magic, energy and I felt I read it in a perfect time. Alone, when I can refer to things about myself.

The story is about the 21 years old Brida from a small village in Ireland living in Dublin and searching for life wisdom, specifically the path to Love. Eager to know how to find her Soulmate., she eventually meets those who became her Teachers (Magus and Wicca) that are able to show her the way. She discovers who she was in the past, and who she still is today, a witch (I found a lot of similarities with the Harry Potter story, but I think that's only me), and in fact she does find her Soulmate. It can only be this way, because the Soulmates will one way or another meet again.

There are quite a few quotes that I enjoyed, here are are some of them:

“The night is just a part of the day”

“Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day”

"The trick I’m referring to is the phone. For millions of years, we only ever spoke to someone we could see, then, in less than a century, ‘seeing’ and ‘speaking’ were suddenly separated. We think it’s quite normal now and don’t realize the huge impact it has on our reflexes. Our body still hasn't got used to it"

“You could tell your soul mate by the light in their eyes, and since the time began, that has been how people have recognized their true love.” 

"Choosing a path meant having to miss out on others. She had a whole life to live, and she was always thinking that, in the future, she might regret the choices she made now. “I’m afraid of committing myself,” she thought to herself. She wanted to follow all possible paths and so ended up following none"

“Why do so many people chose to spend their whole life destroying paths they didn't even want to follow, instead of following the one path that would lead them somewhere” 

“And because of our selfishness, we will be condemned to the worst torture humankind ever invented for itself: loneliness”

“People give flowers as present because flowers contain true meaning of love. Anyone who tries to posses a flower will have to watch its beauty fading. But if you simply look at a flower in the field, you'll keep it forever.  That is what the forest taught me. That you will never be mine, and that is why i will never lose you.

"I will always remember you, and you will remember me, just as we will remember the evening, the rain on the window, and all the things we'll always have because we cannot possess them” 

“Finding one important thing in your life doesn't mean you have to give up all the other important things"

The last two quotes summarises the end of the book.

I forgot I enjoyed reading Paulo Coelho's books, will look for some more.

(From Farnham library)

Colorless Tsuruku Tazki - Haruki Murakami

I read this book after a recommendation. I managed to finish it in two days because it's a very easy going book.

The story is about the colorless Tsuruku Tazki, he is colorless because his name does not carry the meaning of any colour in Japanese, differently from his other four friends, and the fifth grey, Haida. 

We get to know why the four friends stop talking to him in high school, but we never managed to know what happen to Haida, why he stopped talking to him, we finish the book without an answer. Murakami wanted to leave the question mark if Tsukuru's dreams were actually reality, but that's all, we don't get any final concrete answer! How frustrating! I wanted an answer. I wanted to know if there was anything else connected to the story he told related to his father and the pianist Midorikawa!

My favorite sentence from the book the one from Sara, the character's girlfriend, which we also don't ended up knowing if is dating someone else! Back to the sentence, Tsukuru imagines her saying "You went all the way to Finland to eat pizza margherita", I though it was a very Rastik's sentence.
That's all I have to conclude about this book. I won't spoil it and say that the group stop talking to him because one of the friend spread the news that he raped her, oh no I would not say that!

(From Farnham library)

A Descoberta da America pelos Turcos - Jorge Amado

O livro é bem pequeno, chamado de "romancinho" mas conta uma historia legal de se ler. Como conta no prefacio, o livro era na verdade para ser distribuido por diversas companias aereas italianas para os passageiros entre voos de Italia e as tres Americas. Tendo assim o livro escrito pelo norte Americano Norman Mailer, o mexicano Carlos Fuentes, e o proprio Jorge Amado. O motivo seria em 1992 data comemorativa dos Quinto Centenario do decobrimento da America.

 

Por motivo de uma tal de "operacao maos limpas" ocorrida na Italia para trazer a publico e a julgamento a corrupcao italiana, o livreto nao foi publicado a tempo de participar das comemoracoes. Cada um dos autores entao ganham o direitos autorais pela obra e os publicaram separadamente.

 

A obra do nosso Jorge Amado conta a historia de turcos, mas que na verdade sao arabes, logo de chegada ao Brasil em 1903, formando seus comercios e suas familias na regiao de cultivo de cacau  no sul da Bahia. O libanes Raduan Murad tenta convencer o sirio Jamil Bichara a se casar com Adma, filha de Ibrahim, dono de um armarinho, para poder herder os negocios do sogro e acalmar a fera, que alem de feia estava cada dia mais dificil de lidar. Na humilde opiniao da rapariga Paula Caolha, o pai deveria "baixar a peia" em Adma, ja Glorinha Cu de Ouro, acha que Adma "carece, coitadinha, é de uma boa rola". Jamil quando considerou casar-se com Adma pensou que em seu caso seria pouca rola e muita peia. Adma por fim acaba casando-se com o jovem que trabalhava no bar, Adib Barud, brasileiro grapiúna (sertanejos aos habitantes do litoral), pelo qual igualmente se apaixona pela fera.

 

Eu achei o livro cheio de graca, desde a visao esteriotipada dos arabes batendo em suas mulheres, ate as sacanagens dos bordeis por eles frequentados.

 

 (um dos livros que trouxe da "biblioteca" de casa- Brasil)

The Lost City of Z - David Grann

If I had to answer if I liked this book or not I would probably say I didn't.

My reasons: the author gives you plenty of insight about the topic surrounding the British explorer Percy Fawcett's search of the "lost city of Z". However, in 2005 the north american author himself goes for a quest searching for the traces left by the British explorer, I should have guessed it could only mean disaster. I was surprised to discover that there are people in the amazon jungle patient enough ($) to guide him and take him seriously after announcing his "quest". I wanted to throw the book away when I read that in the middle of his journey, while carrying his laptop though the jungle (!) and after talking to his baby son over the phone in the middle of the jungle (!!) he had a breakdown and said he already had enough material to write the book, and that he should go no further. I mean, I ain't no adventure explorer but that is exactly why I wouldn't go all the way there and chicken out in the middle of it because it got rough.

Anyway, the book describes the life of Fawcett and his persistent pursue of finding the lost ancient civilization in the middle of the world's lung, the amazon jungle. It also describes the explorer's wife despair after Fawcett, their son Jack, and his best friend Raleigh disappearance in Mato Grosso back in 1925. At that time Britain was very keen in sending explorers to seek new findings. Charles Dawin's own son was the "president" of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) during Fawcett time. The later organised many expeditions to Brazil under the RGS's fundings. In fact he wasn't the only one in those foreign land, Brazil had many tribes uncontacted and undiscovered areas, which by this fact alone was very attractive to explorers, but even more if added with the "El Dorado" legend. Explorers from all parts of the world were gathering their expeditions in a race to be the first one to discover the lost city and hopefully its treasure. Dr Rice was a very rich man which afforded to go few times to Brazil with the cutting edge technology, taking with him hydroplanes and wireless radio whereas our friend Fawcett was sending letters home and to the RGS stating his location and revealing the land by feet.

Fawcett was known for being very experienced when the subject was exploring the unknown. He was extremely fast, achieving unachiavable miles in a little time-span. He was very talented reading coordinates' instruments, and was very careful and considering when contacting an unknown tribe. He knew he was good, and so he dared to say the was the only capable person to infiltrate such rough land. He, however lacked money, so during what became his last expedition, he advertised his quest in north america, and was given a lot of publicity, and enough fund to get them going. The prize he was to win, however would be only redeemed upon his return. A large number of people (I'm not good at remembering numbers in general) were watching them close with interest. Every new location informed was making the newspaper top cover. It's not by accident that after their disappearance many people were intrigued and decided to go themselves on the quest, which had now become the quest to unveil what happen to the very skilled Fawcett rather than to discover the lost city of Z itself. It is said that as much as 100 people perished or disappeared searching for the Fawcetts over the years.

Luckily he author journey to trace Fawcett had a happy ending (I would be surprised if it hadn't in 2005). He gathered a lot of information about Fawcett's last location before disappearing, although there a lot of different version about this fact. In letters to the RGS Fawcett writes that the Dead Horse Camp (name based on real events) was their last camp site, but in letters to his family they give another location further north as their current location. Jack also says that the next time he would write would be up in Para, which they never made. The book writer travels to Wales to meet Fawcett's grandchildren and grand-grandchildren and gather more information about the explorer last location. He buys all his adventure gear and head to Brazil, he gets to Cuiaba meets Paolo whom use to work for FUNAI, and is keen to guide him to the Xingu area. The book goes back and forth from one chapter about Fawcett's journey to the next about the author's journey. After innumerous chapters detailing ever single step Fawcett took, the author just brush it on the side that he was probably killed by a local tribe which got offended they didn't give them gifts (they would be saving for a more fierce tribe). By then I was a bit disappointed, but nevermind.

The supposedly "real" new finding in the book was done through the anthropologist Michael Hecknberger at the Kuhikugu site, where it is believed there was once an ancient civilization. The archaeological complex is supposedly dated back around 1500 years ago up to 400 years ago where they supposedly killed by the disease brought by the Europeans settlers. I'm not totally convinced about that, specially after reading that the anthropologist was jailed in 2009 for trafficking cocaine in Florida. Weirdo!

So, my conclusion is that the book is worth it reading for the Fawcett detailed story rather than the author own experience in the jungle. I just wanted to say that I find it amazing the fact that the jungle explorers get so sick and exhausted by the smallest bugs than anything else. Being them the mosquitoes, the candiru, and all the nasty little fuckers. Also, I admire every description with the sucuri (aka anaconda) encounter. Just thinking about entering a river with the slightness possibility of one of those beast inside gives me goosebumps.

(From Farnham library)

Ariano Suassuna, Um Perfil Biografico - Adriana Victor

Ainda bem que so eu leio esse blog, quando se trata do meu escritor preferido eu gostaria de escrever da maneira mas bonita, ainda mais quando se trata de um livro sobre sua vida e obra. Sei que nao tenho capacidade pra isso, mas vou tentar deixar aqui as partes que mais gostei do livro.

Ao som do Quinteto Armorial - Do romance ao galope nordestino.

Muito do que li no livro eu ja sabia sobre o autor, outros fatos eu confesso que desconhecia. Em entrevistas sabia que o autor gostava de matar todos os seus personagens, e assim o faz na maioria de seus livors, mas nunca tinha me dado conta que isso teria uma ligacao ao fato de seu pai ter sido assassinado quando ele apenas tinha 3 anos de idade. O livro diz que ele traz pra literatura o seu lado "cruel" digamos assim, mas que depois de ter conhecido sua esposa - ela aos 13 e ele aos 17- que ele passa a acucarar sua vida.

Gosto quando ele diz que Se Paraiba, palavra feminina, e o "estado materno" de Ariano Suassuna, Pernambuco passaria a ser seu "estado paterno".

Ainda nao tinha entendido o conceito e proposta do Movimento Armorial, acredito que agora a passo a ter uma melhor ideia. Na minha concepcao trata-se de um movimento para trazer cultura popular nordestina mais proxima das pessoas atraves de musica, poesia, literatura, arte plastica, e tudo que esta relacionado a ela. Desconhecia tambem o artista gravador Gilvan Samico e o musico Capiba, mas ja conhecia o trabalho de J. Borges, e inclusive o admiro muito tambem.

Sobre sua casa, Ariano dizia que era "o melhor lugar do mundo", mesmo lugar que viveu desde 1960 com Zelia sua mulher, mais parece um espaco de esposicao de arte.

“Considero Ariano meu padrinho de arte. Foi um dos maiores incentivadores do meu trabalho. Ele foi um anjo na minha vida, me ajudou muito. Quando ele disse que, na opinião dele, eu era o melhor xilogravurista, todo mundo acreditou. Levei sorte, e até hoje aproveito isso. Sempre o admirei em todos os pontos. Outro igual a ele nunca vai ter” J. Borges, xilogravurista.

Suassuna comeco a escrever em 1981 sua obra ainda nao lancada: O jumento sedutor. Afirmou que "Se eu conseguir termina-lo como quero, sera o livro com o qual sonhei toda a vida. Nele estou unindo poesia, ensaio, romance e teatro". Em carta de despedida aos trabalhos que vinha exercendo em funcao de seu cargo como secretario de cultura de Pernambuco, disse que estaria angustiado, que na idade que estava, nao sabia se teria tempo suficiente para terminar o livro, pois para ficar como ele pensava e queria, teria mais de 20 volumes. Em uma entrevista tambem me lembro dele dizer que estava escrevendo mas se aquilo que tinha escrito nao agradace a Deus, Ele teria o poder de acabar com tudo. Apesar do livro nao ter sido lancado antes de sua morte, dizem que ele esta pronto e so faltando a autorizacao de Zelia e seus filhos para o lancamento. Torco para que isso aconteca em breve para eu e seus adimiradores podermos apreciar sua obra de grand finale. Tenho tambem esperanca que outras de suas obras esgotadas sejam relancadas, pois ainda nao tive o privilegio de le-las.

O livro ainda conta importantes episodios na vida de Ariano, como sua posse da cadeira 32 da Academia Brasileira de Letra em 1990, ou em 2002 quando a escola de samba carioca Imperio Serrano o homenagiou, mas acho que os fatos que eu desconhecia sao os mais interessantes de relatar aqui.

Portanto fica aqui meu humilde "post" comentando sobre o livro.

(Meu pai me enviou uma copia digitalizada por email)

A Confederacy of DUNCES - John Kennedy Toole

The book is a fiction written in 1963, but only published in 1980 by the author mother after his suicide in 69.

I took the book and gave it a go truly because 1. I didn't have anything else to read, 2. Because the book had won the so called Pulitzer prize.

So I begun to unveil the life of Mr Ignatius Jacques Reilly, which even not knowing much about it, but by the foreword I was imagining had a lot in common with the author himself. I later found out that indeed they both had a lot in common.

The story is about this fat 30 years old guy, living with his momma in New Orleans, Luisiana, he has got all this ideas about politics, and all the revolutionary thought about changing the world. Slowly the story starts to unfold and you realize that all the characters in separated stories are going to get together like a puzzle. You find yourself laughing when he gives smart excuses not to work, or to get things the way he wants, a bit like a lot of people we know.

The last chapter you wonder how the whole book is going to close all the openings and give a plausible explanation to all that happened until then. But it does the work pretty well, I was happy with the ending, it could well have a Volume 2 if it wasn't for Mr Toole death, nevermind.

The book is good but maybe too much for a prize winner, just my opinion as always... I wouldn't recommend for everyone. Just about a book to read on your holidays, nothing to expect from.

(Book "borrowed" from Mar & Mar hotel at the Playa del Coco-Costa Rica)

Rasputin A short life - Frances Welch

The title says it all, the book goes though Rasputin's life briefly.

It starts and ends with Rasputin's death day, which in our calendar is dated the 30th of December 1916, but for them it was on the 17th of December, Rastik's birthday :)

Born in the small and sleepy village of Pokrovskoye, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, the peasant, prophet, religious mystic, fornicator holy man. Many of the book's accounts are piece of information provided by Rasputin's daughter Maria, whom wrote three books about her father.

Religious act or luck, Rasputin was talented in "guessing" future events, and healing sick people, he was confident in his statements and even when it didn't turn out just the way it was said, he had a way to mix the words to make it sound just as foreseen.

Due to his popularity, the Tsar (Nicholas II) and the Tsarina (Alexandra Feodorovna) invited him to pay a visit to see their son Alexei, whom was always sick due to hemophilia B. Rasputin was said to possess the ability to heal through prayer and was able to calm the parents and to give the boy some relief, in spite of the doctors' prediction that he would die. On the following day the Tsarevich showed significant signs of recovery. Speculation suggest that Rasputin's healing practice included the administration of aspirin, a pain-relieving analgesic available since 1899. Aspirin has also blood-thinning properties; it prevents clotting and promotes bleeding and would have worsened the hemarthrosis.

The Tsar was not all that convinced though, he had resisted the influence of Rasputin for a long time. At the beginning he had tolerated him because he dare not weaken the Tsarina's faith in him – a faith which kept her alive. He did not like to send him away, for if Alexie Nicolaievich had died, in the eyes of the mother he would have been the murderer of his own son. He influenced the Tsar strategies in politics, which when things were not going very well he was the one to be blamed for, a peasant shouldn't be getting involved with ruling Russia.

That's when he found himself with a lot of enemies, to name a few: Khionia Guseva, whom attempted to assassinate Rasputin, managing to stab him into his abdomen. The list includes the Tsarina's sister Olga, the Tsar mother, Iliodor, not to mention his killers: Prince Felix Yusupov, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and Dr. Stanislaus de Lazovert 

According to Yusupov he offered Rasputin petit fours poisoned with a large amount of cyanide. According to Purishkevich the Prince climbed the stairs three times, as Rasputin refused the cakes or to drink anything. Yusupov played his guitar and sang a few gypsy ballads at Rasputin's request, who was fond of gypsy music. After an hour, still waiting for Rasputin to collapse, Yusupov became anxious that Rasputin might live until the morning, leaving the conspirators no time to conceal his body. Yusupov went upstairs to consult the others and, determined to finish the job, he came back with a revolver. Rasputin was hit by a bullet that entered his left chest and penetrated the stomach and the liver; a second entered the left back soon after the first and penetrated the kidneys. Although both shots were fatal – he would have died within 20 minutes – they did not succeed in killing Rasputin.

At some time, when three of his fellow conspirators had left, Yusupov went down to check on the body and Rasputin seems to have opened his eyes and lunged at him. He is supposed to have grabbed Yusupov, tore an epaulette off his tunic and attempted to strangle him. Rasputin climbed the stairs to the ground floor stumbling in the courtyard. At that moment, according to Purishkevich, he fired at Rasputin four times while missing twice, who fell into the snow. A nervous Yusupov severely clubbed his victim.

When the body was wrapped in a curtain, the conspirators drove in the direction of Krestovsky island and at about 5:00am threw the corpse from a bridge into an ice-hole in the Malaya Nevka River . They forgot to attach weights to make the body sink, dropped his fur coat over the railing with the chains, and drove back, without noticing that one of Rasputin's galoshes, a rubber boot (size 10), was stuck between the pylons of the bridge.

When one of Rasputin's boots was found Maria and her sister affirmed it belonged to their father. It was late in the evening, but the police knew where to investigate. In the morning, Rasputin's beaver-fur coat and the body were discovered 140 meters away from the bridge in the frozen river. On the next day an autopsy on the thawed corpse by Kossorotov in a poorly lighted mortuary room in the evening established that the cause of his instant death was the third bullet in his brain, with strong evidence there was an exit wound at the back of the head.The first and third shots were made at close range, but had exited his body. The second bullet was extracted. There was alcohol in his body, no water found in his lungs and no cyanide in his stomach. There were a number of injuries, all of them caused after his death. Kossorotov found that Rasputin’s genitals were crushed.His right cheek was shattered when the body was thrown from the bridge.

His body was buried, and dig out three times, until the last time when it was put into a packing case that once held a piano, the next day it was loaded onto a truck and taken out of Petrograd. The story goes the truck broke down or the snow forced them to stop. The corpse is supposed to be taken into a field in the Vyborgsky District and burned.

More and more people came to the conclusion that the problem was not Rasputin but the weak-willed Emperor. After his death the memoirs of those who knew Rasputin became a mini-industry. The basement where he died is a tourist attraction. Numerous film and stage productions have been based on his life. He has appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in numerous other media, as well as having several beverages named after him.

On the 17th of July 1918 the Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, their son, four daughters, and four non-family members were executed by the Bolsheviks

According to Dominic Lieven "more rubbish has been written on Rasputin than on any other figure in Russian history". It is true that he has left a lot of mystics behind. We will never know if he had slept with the Tsar, if he raped the girls he was accused of, if he was actually given poisoned cakes and drinks, how he based his predictions on, and so forth.

I generally enjoyed the book and learned more about him.

(Farnham library)

Padre Cícero: Poder, Fé e Guerra no Sertão - Lira Neto

Achei que fosse demorar 1 mes pra ler o livro, mas acabei em menos de 10 dias, leitura delicia demais! Parabens ao autor, pequisa enorme com tantos detalhes e datas! A mais completa biografia do Padim Ciço.

Parte I A Cruz (1844-1899)

A primeira parte do livro trata de contar a historia de como Padre Cicero ficou conhecido no Juazeiro, no Brasil, e no mundo, historia essa que nao tinha conhecimento ate entao, e que ate um ponto achei que o livro se tratava de uma ficcao. 

Esse post vai ser em sua grande parte puro Ctrl C + Ctrl V da Wikipedia, sorry! (explica o tamanho do post, hey o livro tem 557 paginas!)

Cícero Romão Batista nasceu no Crato, Ceara dia 24 de marco de 1844.  Aos 12 anos vez voto de castidade influenciado pela leitura da vida de São Francisco de Sales^. Em 1860, foi matriculado no colégio do renomado padre Inácio de Sousa Rolim, em Cajazeiras na Paraíba. Aí pouco demorou, pois a inesperada morte de seu pai, vítima de cólera em 1862, o obrigou a interromper os estudos e voltar para junto da mãe Quinô e das irmãs solteiras. A morte do pai, que era pequeno comerciante no Crato, trouxe sérias dificuldades financeiras à família de tal sorte que, mais tarde, em 1865, quando Cícero Romão Batista precisou ingressar no Seminário da Prainha, em Fortaleza, só o fez graças à ajuda de seu padrinho de crisma, o coronel Antônio Luís Alves Pequeno

Durante o período em que esteve no seminário, Cícero era considerado um aluno mediano e, apesar de anos depois arrebatar multidões com seus sermões, apresentou notas baixas nas disciplinas relacionadas à oratória e eloquência.

Cícero foi ordenado padre no dia 30 de novembro de 1870. Após sua ordenação retornou ao Crato e, enquanto o bispo não lhe dava paróquia para administrar, ficou a ensinar latim no Colégio Padre Ibiapina, fundado e dirigido pelo professor José Joaquim Teles Marrocos, seu primo e grande amigo.

No Natal de 1871, convidado pelo professor Simeão Correia de Macedo, o padre Cícero visitou pela primeira vez o povoado de Juazeiro (numa fazenda localizada na povoação de Juazeiro, então pertencente à cidade do Crato), e ali celebrou a tradicional missa do galo.

O padre visitante, então aos 28 anos, estatura baixa, pele branca, cabelos louros, penetrantes olhos azuis e voz modulada, impressionou os habitantes do lugar. E a recíproca foi verdadeira. Por isso, decorridos alguns meses, exatamente no dia 11 de abril de 1872, lá estava de volta, com bagagem e família, para fixar residência definitiva no Juazeiro.

No ano de 1889, durante uma missa celebrada pelo padre Cícero, a hóstia ministrada pelo sacerdote à religiosa Maria de Araújo se transformou em sangue na boca da religiosa. Segundo relatos, tal fenômeno se repetiu diversas vezes durante cerca de dois anos. Rapidamente espalhou-se a notícia de que acontecera um milagre em Juazeiro.

A pedido de padre Cícero a diocese formou uma comissão de padres e profissionais da área da saúde para investigar o suposto milagre. A comissão tinha como presidente o padre Clycério da Costa e como secretário o padre Francisco Ferreira Antero, contava, ainda, com a participação dos médicos Marcos Rodrigues Madeira e Ildefonso Correia Lima, além do farmacêutico Joaquim Secundo Chaves. Em 13 de outubro de 1891, a comissão encerrou as pesquisas e chegou à conclusão de que não havia explicação natural para os fatos ocorridos, sendo portanto um milagre.

Insatisfeito com o parecer da comissão, o bispo dom Joaquim José Vieira nomeou uma nova comissão para investigar o caso, tendo como presidente o padre Alexandrino de Alencar e como secretário o padre Manoel Cândido. A segunda comissão concluiu que não houve milagre, mas sim um embuste.

Dom Joaquim se posicionou favorável ao segundo parecer e, com base nele, suspendeu as ordens sacerdotais de padre Cícero e determinou que Maria de Araújo, que viria a morrer em 1914, fosse enclausurada.

Em 1898, padre Cícero foi a Roma, onde se reuniu com o Papa Leão XIII e com membros da Congregação do Santo Ofício, conseguindo sua absolvição. Voltando a Fortaleza se descepcionou quando dom Joaquim lhe mostrou como interpretara a decisao do Vaticano, disse que teria que deixar Juazeiro uma vez por todas, e deixar de construir seu altar particular em sua casa no Horto. Cicero volta a Juazeiro ja sem forcas por conta da viagem e da ma noticia que trazera de Fortaleza e adoece. O livro diz que muitos acreditavam que esse seria o fim de Cicero, porem " a historia de Cicero Romão Batista estava apenas começando".

Parte II A Espada (1900-1934)

Trata da parte politica da vida de Cícero.... ja tinha escrito quase dois paragrafo quando deu merda e nao salvou... Fiquei puta e resolvi escrever essa merda com a fonte no caralho da Wikipedia. A intencao e nao esquecer o tal livro, nao fazer uma obra entao foda-se.

Eleito prefeito de Juazeiro em 1911, padre Cícero envolveu-se na disputa com o presidente Hermes da Fonseca para manter no poder regional a família Acioly. Em 1912, a intervenção federal no Ceará derrubou do poder a família Acioly, sendo nomeado interventor o coronel Marcos Franco Rabelo, havendo eleição apenas para o cargo de vice-governador, na qual padre Cícero Romão Batista foi eleito, acumulando também o cargo de intendente de Juazeiro do Norte.
Em 1914 Franco Rabelo rompeu com o Partido Republicano Conservador (PRC), e iniciou uma perseguição a Padre Cícero, destituindo-o dos cargos que exercia e ordenando a prisão do sacerdote.
O deputado federal Dr Floro Bartolomeu, aliado de Pinheiro Machado, montou um batalhão para defender Padre Cícero, seu amigo pessoal. O grupo era formado por jagunços e romeiros, era a união da força de Floro com o carisma de Cícero.

Quando os soldados de Franco Rabelo chegaram a Juazeiro do Norte se depararam com uma situação inusitada: em apenas uma semana, os romeiros cavaram um valado de nove quilômetros de extensão cercando toda a cidade e ergueram uma muralha de pedra na colina do Horto. A fortificação recebeu o nome de "Círculo da Mãe de Deus". O batalhão, ao ver que seria impossível romper o círculo, recuou e pediu reforços.
As forças estaduais retornaram à cidade do Crato e pediram reforços para destruir o Círculo. Franco Rabelo enviou mais soldados e um canhão para invadir Juazeiro do Norte. No entanto, o canhão falhou e as forças rabelistas foram facilmente derrotadas pelos revoltosos.

Após expulsar os invasores, Floro Bartolomeu parte para o Rio de Janeiro a fim de conseguir aliados. Os revoltosos seguem para Fortaleza com o objetivo de derrubar o governador. O detalhe e que vao saqueando as cidades por onde passam.
Na capital federal, Floro consegue o apoio do senador Pinheiro Machado. Quando as forças juazeirenses chegam a Fortaleza, uma esquadrilha da Marinha impôs um bloqueio marítimo na orla fortalezense. Cercado, Franco Rabelo não teve como reagir e foi deposto.

Em 1917 o Santo Oficio  expede a pena de excomunhao contra Cícero, porem com a Primeira Guerra mundial Rolando solta na Europa, o Vaticando so enviou a tal carta depois de 9 meses de sua data, outro porem seria que ao receber a carta o novo bispo dom Quintino Rodrigues guardou em uma gaveta e por outros motivos alem da saude de Cicero, nunca fez tal anuncio. Em 1921 por pedido do mesmo bispo, quizendo que pelo bem da paz Cícero fosse absolvido de todas as censuras, o Santo Oficio entao anulou a excomunhao. Dom Quintino entao proibio o padre de exercer qualquer atividade como sacerdote dali por diante. O padre tinha acabado de voltar de sua ultima missa celebrada. No mesmo periodo em que isso ocorria, Cícero estava no processo de descrever seu testamento. Ele deixava tudo o que tinha para a Igreja que o renegara.

Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, o Lampião, era devoto de padre Cícero e respeitava as suas crenças e conselhos. Os dois se encontraram uma única vez, em Juazeiro do Norte, em 1926. Naquele ano, a Coluna Prestes, liderada por Luís Carlos Prestes, percorria o interior do Brasil desafiando o Governo Federal. Para combatê-la foram criados os chamados Batalhões Patrióticos, comandados por líderes regionais que muitas vezes arregimentavam cangaceiros.
Existem duas versões para o encontro. Na primeira, difundida por Billy Jaynes Chandler (escritor que em 2010 me fez ter contato com o cangaco e talvez o culpado por eu escrevendo sobre Padim Cico) , o sacerdote teria convocado Lampião para se juntar ao Batalhão Patriótico de Juazeiro, recebendo em troca, anistia de seus crimes e a patente de Capitão. Na outra versão, defendida por Lira Neto (escritor desse livro) e Anildomá Willians, o convite teria sido feito por Floro Bartolomeu sem que padre Cícero soubesse.
O certo é que ao chegarem em Juazeiro, Lampião e os 49 cangaceiros que o acompanhavam, ouviram padre Cícero aconselhá-los a abandonar o cangaço. Como Lampião exigia receber a patente que lhe fora prometida, Pedro de Albuquerque Uchoa, único funcionário público federal no município, escreveu em uma folha de papel que Lampião seria, a partir daquele momento, Capitão e receberia anistia por seus crimes. O bando deixou Juazeiro sem enfrentar a Coluna Prestes.

Naquele mesmo ano o doutor Floro morre aos 49 anos de sifilis. Cícero e eleito deputado federal. Em 1930 por conta de uma reforma na Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pérpetuo Socorro, seu túmulo foi violado e seus restos mortais foram saqueados e nunca mais encontrados, o padre ao saber disso foi a igreja e consegui salvar restos mortais do cranio da beata, porem ninguem mais soube do paradeiro desses.

Em 1934 beirando seus 90 anos, com catarata avancada e na agonia de seus problemas intestinais, o Padim Ciço resolve escrever seu terceiro testamento passando o bispado do Crato o principal beneficiario de suas herancas. Dia 20 de Julho morre Cícero Romão Batista, devido a aglomeracao seu caixao foi passado pelos fieis ate chegar a Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pérpetuo Socorro onde foi enterrado e se encontra ate os dias de hoje. Na semana da missa de setimo dia, os 60 mil moradores do Cariri esgotam estoques de lojas em busca de pano preto, todos fizeram questao de trajar luto.

Epilogo (2009)

Gostei bastante dessa parte do livro, e dessa vez nao da pra fazer uso da minha queria Wikipedia, mas serei breve. O autor conta sua experiencia viajando para a terra abençoada em 2009, para comemorar o 75° ano de morte dele, Padim Ciço. Conta sobre o "Roteiro da Fé":

1. Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro
2. Memorial Padre Cícero
3. Museu Cívico Religioso Padre Cícero
4. Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora das Dores
5. Estatua e Museu Vivo do Padre Cícero
6. Santuário do Sagrado Coração de Jesus
7. Santuário de São Francisco
8. Igreja São Miguel

Na cerimonia, dom Fernando Panico, diante a ameacador dado sobre catolicos se convertendo ao envangelio, faz quertao de adiciona: "Quem ama o padre Cicero amara forcosamente todos os padres. Quem fala mal dos padres esta falando mal do padre Cicero!". Ao final os 20 mil romeiros que se encontravam la levantaram os chapeus de palha e cantaram em uma so voz musica de Luiz Gonzaga:

Olha la,
no alto do Horto!
Ele esta vivo,
o Padim não ta morto!

Livro comprador na Saraiva da Rua Nossa Senhora de Copacabana- Rio de Janeiro, por R$54

Os homens de barro - Ariano Suassuna

Lendo a obra que deixou que presto minhas homenagens aquele que morreu dias atras, meu escritor preferido, aquele que despertou uma das minhas maiores paixões. Li todos os seus livros em circulação, e até hoje procuro aqueles esgotados. Assisti milhares de vezes o filme O auto da Compadecida, até me dar conta que sei falas de cor. Fui até o sertão da Paraíba conhecer a cidade de Cabaceiras onde o filme se baseia. Assuntos que através dele estou sempre querendo saber mais, como o cangaço, Capitão Lampião, guerra de Canudos, Sebastianismo, padre Cícero. Me encantei com a historia da Pedra Bonita e a crença do povo. Me apaixonei por xilografia e sigo tentando fazer um pouco dessa arte. Sou feliz por ter conhecido um pouco mais de suas obras e sinto sua morte. Mas não há nada a ser feito, pois "tudo que é vivo, morre".

Escolhi esse livro porque foi seu unico livro que nao gostei quando li pela primeira vez. Essa sendo a segunda, ainda continua sendo o que menos gosto. Tem alguns trechos que sao bons, mas a historia pouco desfeixe tem, nao acontece e desacontece coisas como nos outros, talvez por ser um livro bem pequeno, que se le em poucas horas. Gosto do local onde a historia passa, mas pouco me identifiquei.

A trama se passa na Pedra do Reino (Sao Jose do Belmonte-PE), onde por pecados, duas familias tentam se redimir com Deus contruindo um Anjo que apareceu em sonho para um deles. Querem coloca-lo no topo da Pedra para que Deus o veja. Mas um dos filhos se diz nunca ter sido feliz nas Pedras e que quer sair de la com sua garota. O pai e totalmente contra dizendo que la que eles pertencem, e que essa tarefa de contruir o anjo e uma bencao que lhes foi dada.

Se tivesse que escolhei uma passage talvez escolheria essa:

Abel -  Nao basta, meu Pai! Eu nunca fui feliz aqui.

Elias - Ninguem e feliz em canto nenhum! E preciso aceitar o destino que nos foi dado.

Alguns segredos sao descobertos, sangues sao escorridos novamente pela Pedra, e se acaba assim.

Livro comprador online no Brasil- nao me lembro o valor

Gente de Lampião Dadá e Corisco - Antônio Amaury Corrêa de Araújo

Comecando pelo comeco sempre ajuda quando nao se sabe por onde comecar:

Eles:

Cristino Gomes da Silva Cleto, vulgo Corisco - Água Branca - Alagoas 10 de Agosto de 1907 a 25 de Maio de 1940, Jeremoabo - Bahia

Sérgia Ribeiro da Silva, vulga Dada - Belém do São Francisco, 25 de Abril de 1915 a Fevereiro de 1994, Salvador - Bahia

Em 1924, Cristino foi convocado pelo Exército Brasileiro para cumprir o serviço militar. Em uma briga de rua Cristino matou um homem , no ano de 1926, e para nao ser preso tomou a decisão de aliar-se ao bando do cangaceiro Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, Lampiao.

Quando Sergia ainda tinha menos de 14 anos foi com sua prima ate a casa de sua tia, onde encontrou Corisco pela primeira vez, ele apelidou-a de sussuarana. O cabra se engracou com ela, e em um segundo encontro a pegou pela forca e a violetou. Passado um tempo, Corisco apaixonado pela menina foi ate a casa dos pais dela e pediu para que se pai nao a casa-se pois ele voltar pra casar com ela. Voltou e a levou consigo a forca. Ficaram juntos por mais de uma decada e tiveram seis filhos.

O livro conta sobre alguns incidentes envolvendo o bando de Corisco. Alguns narrados por Dada em uma entrevista com o autor, outros narrados por pessoas que participaram do incidente, como no caso do tocador de acordeon.

O livro conta bastantes "causos" que nao teria graca se eu contasse aqui, perderia toda riqueza dos detalhes. Os capitulos sao divididos por historias mas que nao seguem a ordem cronologica dos fatos. Apesar de ter 329 paginas a letra e enorme, entao acabei lendo em tres dias, ou seja, a historia que li ha pouco ainda estava fresca na minha memoria quando um outro capitulo fazia referencia a mesma historia contando os mesmos detalhes, o que acaba sendo repetitivo.  Portanto, achei o conteudo do livro e rico e unico pois eram entrevistas feitas pelo autor diretamente da fonte, porem  foi colocado de uma forma um pouco desorganizada. Nao vou entrar em discussao sobre o preco do livro porque livros em geral no Brasil sao absurdamente caros.

Livro comprado por email do Professor Pereira de Cajazeiras por R$60

Capitão Jagunço - Paulo Dantas

Trouxe bastante livros do Brasil nessa minha ultima viagem, de 07/06 a 02/07. Este foi o primeiro que li, a partir daqui segue alguns livros sobre o mesmo tema: Guerra de Canudos e Cangaço.

O livro sendo em Portugues, passo a conta-lo na mesma lingua

Trata-se de um livro pequeno sobre o tal do capitão jagunço, que ao encontrar com o caixeiro viajante indo para Canudos lhe conta toda sua estoria, e pede que o ultimo lhe julge somente ao final dela.

A estoria e entao a seguinte:

O capitão era entao um simples sertanejo, muito feliz com sua mulher, mas que mesmo casado durante anos, ainda nao haviam tido nenhum filho. Ele passa a conhecer Antonio Conselheiro enquando este ainda nao era tao conhecido. Eles se tornaram amigos e o capitão conta que trocaram ate confidencias. Um tinha muito carinho e respeito pelo outro.

Quando Conselheiro modou-se para Monte Santo, o capitão decidiu que iria segui-lo e fincar raizes por la tambem. Porem ainda nao estava totalmente decidido, ainda mantinha sua casa e seu dinheiro republicano. Por um desafortunado acaso, os  jagunço da guarda catolica descobriram este ultimo fato e decidiram dar uma licao no recem chegado para dar lhe uma licao. O espacaram para matar, mas so nao assim o fizeram por ordens de Conselheiro, pela antiga amizade, porem sua casa foi atiada fogo e destruida e sua mulher morta.

Foi ai que capitão jagunço decidiu que estava do lado errado dessa Guerra e que nao iria ter pena dos jagunços, homens e mulheres que em Canudo estavam. Viajou de la ate Salvador para pedir pessoalmente que ajudasse a nova rebublica sendo guia na invasao e destruicao de Canudos.

Assim foi acertado, porem, capitão jagunço ja no caminho de volta de Salvador sentiu um certo arrependimento, pensou que aquelas pessoas que la estavam eram como ele, e que ao invez de ajuda-las estaria la para contribuir a sua morte. Deixou que esse arrependimento passasse com a lembranca de sua mulher morta por aquele que la estavam.

A Guerra se inicia com sua ajuda, ele descreve como viu de perto pessoas morrendo, e no pos-guerra como viu todos aqueles corpos de pessoas inoscentes ali jogados, sendo devorados por urubus e vermes. Se sentiu mal por daquilo ter participado, e nao do lado dos sertanejos como ele.

Acabada a Guerra, ele era naturalmente odiado pelos moradores sertanejo que ali ficaram, ele afinal de contas o traiam, mas achava que haveria um reconhecimento da parte dos republicanos combatentes. Para a sua descepcao e maior angustia, nao houve qualquer contato daqueles para com ele. Esquecendo-o assim que fizeram uso de suas habilidades, fora usado.

Capitão jagunço entao pede para que o caixeiro de Simao Dias lhe julgue, com paravras ou demostre em gestos se ele achara que o capitão fosse um homem que agiu como qualquer outro agiria, e digno de perdao, ou se era um picador traira que nao merecia ser absolvido. O caixeiro sem hesitar imediatamente lhe aperta a mao.

E assim termina...

O livro e bom, mas como eu ja li bastante coisa a respeito de Canudos, ele acabou nao acrescentando nada de muito novo. Achei uma descricao boa e simples para quem esta tendo contato com a Guerra de Canudos pela primeira vez. Li em alguns sites que a "estoria" na verdade e uma "historia", sendo o capitão jagunço um personagem-titulo real.

Livro comprador no dia 26/06 em um sebo de Curitiba por R$10

The war at the end of the world - Mario Varga Lhosa

I had some idea about what the war at Canudos was, but Varga Lhosa's description about the backland has such a great account that feels like he was there at that time, he has definitely study a lot about Brazil before writing this book.

 

Fiction mixed with reality the book talks about the lives of many characters whom we never have the chance to know the name, the Little Blesses One, the Lion of Natuba, the Scottish Galileo Gall, the near-sighted journalist, the Dwarf, Jurema, Rufino, Father Joaquim of Cumbe, Abbot Joao, Pajeu, Pedrao, Taramela, Big Joao, among other "jaguncos", Maria Quadrado, Alexandrinha Correa, the baron de Canabrava and Estela the baroness, Antonio the Pyrotechnist, Antonio Vilanova. The militarists being the Throat-Slitter, the Bandit-Chaser, among others Captains, Lieutenant, and soldiers from the Republic.

 

Searching about the Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa I read that even though the novel has been acclaimed in Brazil, it was initially poorly received because a foreigner was writing about a Brazilian theme. The book was also criticized as revolutionary and anti-socialist. Vargas Llosa says that this book is his favourite and was his most difficult accomplishment! He used the Euclides da Cunha book Os Sertoes as a plataform for his writings.

 

For something that at first was so powerless, and insignificant, strangely got out of hand and ended with the life of some 20,000 people, Canudo's war was the deadliest Brazilian civil war. It is hard to believe that those people in 1896 believed that the dead would rise from its ash and come back to rescue the poor and end their misery. Don Sebastian I was his name, the 24 years old Portuguese king supposedly killed at the Battle of Alcacer-Quibir, Morroco in 1578 was the salvation people sought.

 

On April 22, 1822 Brazil has declared independence from Portugal, and in November 15, 1889 the republic was declared after a military coup against the ruling Emperor, Don Pedro II. It was in this scenario that Antonio Conselheiro (the Counselor) appeared. He claimed to be a prophet and predicted the return of the legendary Portuguese king. After wandering through the provinces of Ceara, Pernambuco, Sergipe, and Bahia he decided in 1893 to settle permanently with his followers in the farm of Canudos, near the city of Monte Santo, Bahia, by the Vaza-Barris River. Soon his preaching and the promises of a better world attracted almost 8,000 new residents, by 1895 its population had grown to more than 30,000 and more than 5,000 dwellings. The Counselor established a communist-like social system, with division of labour and produce, common property, abolition of civil marriage, tax, and of the official currency, prohibition of taverns, liquor, and prostitution, rigid control over crimes and mandatory religious activities. He provided comfort to those who where before disregarded for having some abnormality.

 

After the struggle to survive, on the forth attempts with the help of the Brazilian army and the Republic which at that time was centred in Rio de Janeiro, in October 2, 1897 it was finally the end of what was once called Canudos, the city and surrounding was completely destroyed. Antônio Conselheiro died in September 22, supposedly of a dysentery. After the promises that the republic would guarantee their lives, part of the survivals surrendered with a white flag, whilst the last fights happened in the public square. Despite the promises, not only all the men made prisoners, but also woman and children ended up being beheaded, an execution called the red tie (gravata vermelha). The Canudo war has been considered one of the biggest crime committed in the Brazilian territories. Antônio Conselheiro body was exhumed and his head cut off by a knife and taken to Salvador, Bahia, both as a proof and as a war spoil. It was examined by the noted forensic medicine expert, Dr. Nina Rodrigues, and placed in permanent exhibition in the museum of the Medical School of Bahia, where it was destroyed in a fire in 1905. They made sure the whole city was destroyed as never to be a pilgrim destination.

The book has great parts and one of my favourite is the dialog between the near-sighted and the baron, when the former says that the Canudo war was in fact a big misunderstanding. Antonio Conselheiro was not trying to reinstall the monarchy as the republicans thoughts, he was an idealist that had seen to much suffering and poverty, and believed faith could change things. He introduced God to those that thought were born to serve the Devil, such as the ex-cangaceiros Abbot Joao, Pajeu, Pedrao, Taramela, Big Joao. Hadn't the war happen, they wouldn't have to touch weapons again.

 

 

 

Praised be Blessed Jesus the Counselor...

 

 

Antonio Vicente Mendes Maciel (the Councelor) wrote a book in 1895 called: Apontamentos dos preceitos da Divina Lei do Nosso Senhor Jesus Christo para a salvação dos homens.

 

 "Se o teu inimigo tiver fome, dá-lhe de comer e se tiver sede, dá-lhe de beber, porque se isto fizeres, amontoarás brasas vivas sobre a sua cabeça. Não te deixes vencer do mal, mas vence o mal com o bem". Antonio Conselheiro

 

The only photograph of Antonio Conselheiro taken after his death by Favio de Barros

 

The news about the Moreira Cesar death

Book bought on amazon for £1.95

Hector and the search for happiness

-> Livrinho agua com açucar

Lessons from Hector and the search for happiness –François Lelord

Making comparisons can spoil your happiness

Happiness often comes when least expected

Many people see happiness only in their future

Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money

Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story

Happiness is a long walk in beautiful unfamiliar mountains

It’s a mistake to think that happiness is the goal

Happiness is being with people you love

Unhappiness is being separated from the people you love

Happiness is knowing your family lacks for nothing

Happiness is doing a job you love

Happiness is having a home and a garden of your own

It’s harder to be happy in a country run by bad people

Happiness is feeling useful to others

Happiness is to be loved for exactly who you are

People are kinder to a child who smiles

Happiness comes when you feel truly alive

Happiness is knowing how to celebrate

Happiness is caring about the happiness of those you love

The sun and the sea make everybody happy

Happiness is a certain way of seeing things

Women care more than men about making others happy

Happiness means making sure that those around you are happy

Book from Farnham -UK library

Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival - David Pilling/ Memories

This post is only my opinion and point of view, and I create this because my memory sucks and I wanted to remember what the book talks about, and because I wanted to reflex about what Japan means to me.

So, Japan was always a very exotic place to me. During my childhood I had many Japanese-Brazilian friends. We joked that if we dig enough the sand of Santos' beach we would end up in Japan, and Japanese people would be coming out of our sand whole. However, growing up in Brazil I never really thought I was ever going to go to Japan, simply because it was on the other side of the world - even though in my teens I always wanted to go to Australia- I guess we just took the "Japanese" people in Brazil for granted and got used to them, but the country being so far was never thought as a country to tourist around, at least not for me or my group of friends and family.

After coming to the UK in 2006 I started travelling, and Japan became highly strong in my "wish list". However, travelling in Europe was easy and cheap, I knew Japan would be a lot more expensive, so me and Rasto (my fiancee) postponed it until 2010, when we were seriously thinking about going the following year. In March 2011 the tsunami happened and our plans were once again postponed, but that was ok, we could get more ready for the next coming years. 

So finally at the beginning of the year 2013 I remember deciding between Japan and Central America when Rasto was spending Xmas and the New Year in Slovakia. When he arrived home at the beginning of January I had made the Japanese flag and said I have decided where we were going next September, I think he guessed correctly without seeing the flag. We were both very excited about Japan. Rasto has always been in love with the movie Lost in Translation, which takes place in Japan. He still has a funny relationship with that movie, he knows almost all the movie' script by heart. The time I spent alone when he was in Slovakia I was day-dreaming about Japan, I made lots of online search around the topic, and I ended up following many YouTube channels about Brazilians and Canadians living in Japan, which I still follow nowadays.

Ok, so I like Japan, not a big deal, well it is for me, I've never made a blog about any of the many countries I've been, not that I want to show off, but what I mean is that Japan was the only country that drove me to write a notebook about our straying straightaway when we came back to the UK. Now, after reading the book Bending adversity : Japan and the art of survival by David Pilling I got hooked up in writing about Japan again. The reason this time being the fact that now I kind of understand better why Japan is so special to me. Because my memory is really rubbish I thought I better write some of the things I've read before I forget, as I did with so many great books.

So from now on I'm going to talk about the things from the book, not really following the book order, I'm just writing what I've taken from the book that made a lot of sense in my case. The book is great by the way! When I was in the middle I kind of got disappointed because the author was telling me why I liked Japan so much. I thought it was just "a thing" I had, but he actually showed me that my feelings had some reasoning behind it. At that stage I wasn't too sure if I wanted to know that or just keeping thinking there was no specific reason, just a good feeling about it. Further down the book I decided to write this so I can put in writing my reasoning, and think about it.

The book actually start up mentioning that is useless and in a way wrong to try to understand or explain Japan and the Japanese people. No wonder I identified with the book straightaway!

There were a lots of thing about Japan that I had no idea. I knew Japanese people worked a lot, and are famous for that, but I didn't know that in the 80's and beginning of the 90's graduate students would apply for jobs and join a company for a job-for-life. They would spend all their lives working for the same company. They introduce themselves as for example Thais from (company name). The company almost becomes a surname. You wouldn't want not to find a job after graduating, the chances to get a part-time job meant low pay jobs almost forever. That's the kind of job these people would get, as well as women, the latter have a very slim chance to get to a management position, in which case that meant they would have to give up having a family or raising a child. The book mentions how women are almost seen as a tool for men, they are given the task to manage their husband's salary, to use it wisely to buy all the household need. In general they stay home fully to satisfy their husbands needs when they come home after a long day at work. Some men, not satisfied fulfilling their basic needs look for the famous maids and geisha services.

Still on the work topic, the book mentions how Japan is extremely efficient and highly skilled when it comes to creating new ways to save money, developing an almost artistic movements necessary for efficient production, in a limited physical space. However, companies such as Sony, and Panasonic have been in decline for many years, for focusing only in partial optimization, and not being able to navigate the transformation from analogue to digital. The discussion is that this is only due to lack of imagination, rather than of technical know-how. Japanese companies knew how to make ore than two-thirds of the parts that went into both iPod and iPhone, but they missed creating and marketing a digital ecosystem. Some say Japan has downgraded from "Made in Japan" to "Japan Inside". To some such as to my lovely writer Haruki Murakami Japan would be a lot better off if English were more spoken among companies. Some also say there is a huge need of young entrepreneur like the creator of the online shop Rakuten.

Though the book mentions a lot about the Japan's inevitable economic decline, it also states not to forget that Japan is quite comfortably the third-largest economy in the world, the size of the combined economies of Britain and France, and three times the size of India's. It is the richest economy in Asia, its citizens, on average, eight times wealthier than the Chinese.

I found interesting how the author mentioned that all the suffering of the Japanese people is encapsulated in that almost sacred word: Hiroshima, that's almost the way they protect themselves against criticism about their involvement in warfare. If the German symbol of the war is the Holocaust, in Japan is Hiroshima, the difference being the disaster one make to the other and the latter being the disaster one suffered at the hands of others. The book develops this idea a lot better than me! It makes you think about all the war Japan has been involved, to name the most important, in 1905 the Russo-Japanese war, in 1910 the Japan -Korea Annexation, the World War I, in 1931 the Manchuria invasion, the World War II, including the Pearl Harbor attack and the Asia-Pacific War. Not to mention these events death toll. Neither the Asian countries who have strong opinion about Japan, nor any country involved in those wars should have anything to say about been or not been a pacific country. Interestingly, instead of keeping things cool about the past, many Japan's prime ministers such as Junichiro Koizumi (in office during 2001-2006) insisted in doing official visits to the Yasukini shrine to pay their respect (?) to the Class A war criminals. Every visit China drive up the wall with anger! But the China-Japan  relationship is another one that doesn't come easy.

Another Japanese uniqueness is the fact that in many ways it resembles a western country, all but for it's geographic position. I always thought Japan was so special also for being in Asia, but different from those other Asians countries, but I never fully thought about it. I can see the effort Japan has made during history to make sure they've reached this status. Some prime ministers tried to approach Japan with other strong countries in Asian taking the European Union, and the Euro currency as an example, but despite the efforts it seems far to get anywhere near the European Union. Still, Japan has reached a great position among the western countries, competing in the technology industry, vehicle manufacture, living standards, and others.

Some may criticize Japan for being considered at the same level of western nation but not fully complying with the same standards in some aspects. For example the Fukushima power plant's lack of health and safety. The book says this lack was due to the interest of politicians. On the same note, Japan has the approach of developing countries when school books are manipulated to tell only the good side of the story, or omitting important fact about the Japanese involvements in warfare.

Something the book doesn't talk about but I love about Japan is the kawaii (cute) culture! But what to talk about this topic? The cuteness of the the miniature, the teddy-bears, the San-X and Sanrio characters, among other adorable stuff comes without saying. What makes it so special is the fact that the cuteness influences the whole country, where you can see planes with Hello Kitty image, or shinkansen trains with Pokemon decoration. I just love it! I really had to control myself not to buy some silly toy whist I was in Japan! I almost bought the cutest Mont Fuji teddy-bear.

            

 Book from Farnham's library