Whores, brothers and travels

Bordels were a place of inspiration for artists. Often whores, the most by women hated kind of woman, revealed more life and poetry than ever hidden in the life of the common man. That´s why the italian law who closed bordels at the end of World War II has always sounded hypocrit to me. Bordels are now, at least in Italy, associated with the fascism years, the pre-war era in which whores had a recognised place in our society. Camilleri's La pensione Eva is a travel into the myth's of sicilan's bordel, and the initiation to sex of a young guy. Very well written, the story flows from shyness to curiosity, desire and passion, love poetry and luxury, pity and greed. It's a good book, but I guess for the 6€ you could rent Paprika from Tinto Brass and get even a better idea of what that world looked alike.

Pepe Carvalho does not need to visit bordels. His woman is a whore, and they know how to enjoy themselves between the recepies that Pepes creates. The problem is that Charo has left him for Andorra; tired of waiting for him, tired of fighting for a place Pepe did not allowed her. So Pepe wanders through Barcellona, following the case of someone apparently suicided because of intrigues and briberies in the city building its facade for the Olympic games. Il fratellino is a bundle of stories in a book (being il fratellino the longest one). Since I have almost read every book of Manuel Vasquéz Montalbán, I had to use small stories to fill-up my evenings. But small stories do not fit Montalbán writing - too much synthesis of facts, in a style in which facts are unessential, but far more important is how one lives them.

To follow his stories Pepe Carvalho often travels, but it is never like the travels of Bill Bryson. A book about travels is something you should never bring with you while travelling, so I did not. Bill tries to follow the pattern of a trip around Europe he did when he was younger. He succedes in following his impulsiveness, his love for big cities and capitals, his marvellous literary fantasy. The guy is fun, very fun. Sometimes he is so funny that it gets boring. The book is well written and gave me the feeling of what it means being a tourist. Most interesting part was to see how being tourist changed over the years - and reminds me on how being a tourist like Bryson is, is already past tense.