Matthew’s Enigma by Matei Calinescu: a father’s honest and affectionate portrait of his son that had autism and unexpectedly died at age 25

Matei Calinescu, Matthew’s Enigma. A Father’s Portrait of His Autistic Son Published 2009 by Indiana University Press. Translated by Angela Jianu, 212 p In limba romana: Portretul lui M, Editura Humanitas, 2016, 256p   Matei Calinescu (1934 – 2009, Romanian professor of comparative literature, writer and literary critic) left communist Romania and moved to United…

After the Banquet by Yukio Mishima: a portrait of a marriage through domestic and political aspirations in a post-war Japan

Yukio Mishima, After the Banquet/ Dupa banchet Published 2001 by Vintage (originally published in Japanese in 1960), 288p. In limba romana: Dupa banchet, Editura Humanitas, 2004   When first published in 1960, The New Yorker called After the Banquet the most profound thing Mishima had done until then and acknowledged the author as an international…

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski: an artistic and practical collection of maps that ingeniously present the world, focusing on the symbols of each country

Aleksandra Mizielinska,  Daniel Mizielinski, Maps Published 2013 by Big Picture Press, first published 2012 in Poland; 112p I have spent the last afternoons presenting the world to my daughter using Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski. Soon after Ema went to bed I used the atlas again, longing for Europe and dreaming of Asia.…

Where the Sidewalk Ends we find Shel Silverstein and his eccentric universe

Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends. The poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein Published 1974 by Harper & Row, 176p/ In limba romana: Acolo unde nu mai e trotuar, Editura Arthur, 2015 If you are a dreamer, come in, / If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,/ A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…/ If…

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: a wonderful reading experience about the power of storytelling, the magic in books and the extraordinary in libraries

William Joyce, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Illustrated by William Joyce & Joe Bluhm/ Fantasticele carti zburatoare ale Dlui Morris Lessmore, Editura Arthur Printed 2012 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers (first published 2011). 52p Everyone’s story matters.   The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore marks an unusual sequence as…

Why everyone should read Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, a parable about love, human nature and war

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince/ Micul Print Published 1998 by Penguin Books (First published 1943 by Reynal & Hitchcock), 82 p   Children easily find interests in whimsical pictures, texts that dare to awake their imagination or stories about bravery and kindness. I have no hesitation when saying that a boa constrictor swallowing an…

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal is an intense autobiography that explores the need for love and home, the insights of an adopted child and the pursuit for happiness

Jeanette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?/ De ce sa fii fericita cand poti fii normala? Published 2011 by Jonathan Cape, 230p/ In Romania a fost publicata de Editura Hecate, 2015     When I read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit I was overwhelmed by jumbled feelings – a general sentiment…

Just Kids: a tribute to youth, love and artistic becoming. Patti Smith illustrates her profound relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe and captures the bohemian life in New York

Patti Smith, Just Kids/ Pe cand eram doar niste pusti Published 2010 by Bloomsbury, 296p   Chelsea Hotel was a favourite place of artists in New York in the 60s and 70s, it was the epicenter of bohemian life, the place where you had little comfort but you could meet Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob…

Professor Dan Ariely demonstrates how all people have a cheating behavior and how we all try to benefit from dishonesty without damaging the personal image

Dan Ariely, The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone – Especially Ourselves/ Adevarul (cinstit) despre necinste: Cum ii mintim pe toti – dar mai ales pe noi insine Published 2012 by HarperCollins, 286p   Why do we give up diets? Was the financial crisis the result of a dishonest human behavior? Can…

Erich Fromm’s beautiful perspective on love and human nature

Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving/ Arta de a iubi Published 2006 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics (first published 1956), 192p   Erich Fromm was both a philosopher and a psychoanalyst so his approach to love is not by creating an easy manual of how to achieve happiness through love but an analysis of the human…