Euthanasia

My country is presently discussing the passing of a law allowing euthanasia, and as always with touchy issues, al demagogy and self-righteousness is running amok. The media are as usually in these cases stoking the flames of intolerance and radicalism, which makes me sick. But of course euthanasia is a serious issue, and I feel like I should as well give my opinion.
I’ve been a physician for 30 years, and treating very sick patients, with a great deal of suffering. And what I have watched is that the overwhelming majority don’t want to die. They don’t want to suffer. And often, when they’re in great suffering at the end of their lives, they ask to be left alone, to just die in peace.
And that’s what I think is the main problem – the insistence on futile care when people are dying, driven by our culture of “doing everything possible” and the families and caretakers’ sense of guilt. That’s really the big problem with terminally ill patients.
That said, I think euthanasia should be approved and regulated for the few people that request it. But most of all, I think we should question futile care, and let people die from their illnesses when we cannot make them better.

Viagens, de Olga Tokarczuk

I had never heard about Olga Tokarczuk until she won the Nobel last year; I was curious when a friend said she was reading Viagens and that it was a "strange" book; she lent it to me after she finished, and I'm glad to have read it. I didn't find it strange at all, I found it fabulous, and was happy to discover such a great writer.

I absolutely love this kind of book. It's a collection of short stories, essays and random thought, all connected by a common theme - travelling, both around the world and inside the mind, an insatiably curious mind, gifted with a keen sense of observation and always haunted by the eternal questions "what am I doing here?", "what's on people's minds?", "what / who are we really?". It reminded me of Chatwin for the love of travelling and details like the wunderkammers (thinking of The Songlines and many of his essays); it reminded me of Marguerite Yourcenar's Zénon, for his endless curiosity about the outer and inner world.

The writing is beautiful and elegant - at least it looks so in the translation, which reconciled me with translating after a terrible experience with a Donna Tartt book; the stories succeed each other smoothly like a modern Sherazade telling engaging tales.

So I highly recommend this book to all my friends, I'm sure they will love it.

The Dark Forest, by Cixin Liu

An excellent sequel to the outstanding The Three Body Problem - I'm really enjoying this series. The plot is extremely clever, the characters engaging, and the scientific base most sound - sometimes I have to reread a passage struggling with my basic knowledge of astro-physics, but it always seems plausible. I felt childishly happy to have guessed the Wallfacer Luo Ji's strategy, I remembered a great book by Asimov I read many years ago, The Gods Themselves, where a similar ruse was used. I wonder if it inspired Cixin Liu? He's a reader of Asimov, he mentioned Foundation in The Three Body Problem. Anyway, I'm looking forward to read the next book in the series.

The Secret Commonwealth, by Phillip Pullman

A good friend once brought me Northern Lights to read while I was ill in hospital; I had never heard of it, and it was a wonderful discovery. The world created by Pullman, a kind of multiverse like our world but not quite like it, immediately got me entranced, like any good fantasy book does. I read the other two books of the trilogy right away, and loved them too. So naturally I was very curious about the second trilogy about Dust, and it hasn't disappointed me so far.

I liked La Belle Sauvage, and now The Secret Commonwealth is even better. I feel sometimes a problem with successful fantasy series is the authors starting to take themselves too seriously - that happens with Tolkien and the Game of Thrones series, for instance - but I think Pullman manages very well to keep a balance between his fantasy universe and dealing with serious questions. Because any good sci-fi or fantasy book deals really with our present issues and worries. So I'm still enjoying The Book of Dust, and looking forward to the next novel.

Rome, again

It is always a joy going back to Rome, one of my favorite cities in the world; since my travelling friends had never been there, I had the added pleasure of showing them my favorite sites. We stayed near Santa Maria Maggiore, which is an excellent starting point to walk around the city. We arrived at night, and I took them for a stroll to enjoy the first sights of the Colosseum, the Trajan column and the Forum, and the ever crowded Trevi fountain – so they could have the crowd experience after the relatively quiet cities of Orvieto and Assisi. We ended the evening with a pizza by the Pantheon – a pretty bad restaurant, but the square is magnificent.

The next day, we started by walking by the Colosseum with its crowds of tourists and silly legionnary’s clad men, the Arch of Constantine and the Forum until the Capitol, one of the most beautiful squares in the world, with the Dioscori’s and Marcus Aurelius’ statues.

Then we visited the wonderful church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, the perfect example of Rome’s historical charm – outstanding beauty made of a mixture of styles, the Roman columns, medieval tombstones, Cosmatesque pulpits and Baroque ceilings.

From the Capitol to the Tiber, whose banks are so bucolic in its neglect, and a visit to the beautiful church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin – people queue to put their hand inside the Bocca della Veritá, but seldom enter the church, which is a true gem.

Across the river to the Trastevere, a most lively and still trendy neighborhood – old streets, ancient churches like the beautiful Santa Maria in Trastevere, graffiti covered walls, lots of restaurants – we ate magnificently at the Tonarello.

Crossing the Tiber again, along the via Giulia towards the Campo di Fiori, always a lively market and not in the least touristy. A few more blocks, and we were at the beautiful Piazza Navona, one of the most splendid Baroque squares ever, the fountains are just magnificent. Then on to Piazza della Rotonda and the Pantheon, that amazing building designed by Hadrian and still proudly standing.

Rome is remarkable, among everything else, for its many magnificent churches, that I never get tired to visit; I hope I didn’t impose too many on my friends, but how can one grasp the experience of its millenar history and many art styles otherwise?

Santa Maria Maggiore is the perfect example of a Roman church – huge and majestic, the 4th century structure, the Roman columns, Cosmatesque floors, Renaissance ceiling gilded with the first New World gold send to Rome, decorative paintings. There is now a security control at the entrance, as in other Roman churches that didn’t exist the last time I was there – a sad sign of the times.

Santa Prassede Basilica is not very known, but it hosts the most beautiful medieval mosaics in Rome. It’s truly dazzling – the colours and composition are only surpassed by the mosaics at Ravenna.

San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral of Rome, is another example; I particularly admire its Cosmatesque cloister and the baldachino. Then there’s the nearby Scala Sancta, a typical Catholic curiosity – so holy you have to climb it on your knees, unfortunately the warning sign for pickpockets is no longer there, I found it hilarious. Maybe they gathered how incongruous it was?

After the churches, we walked to Piazza di Spagna, full of tourists, climbed the Spanish steps and enjoyed the wonderful views over the city from the top, and headed to the Pincio gardens. We visited the Galeria Borghese – worth it for the wonderful Bernini sculptures. Later we walked down via Veneto, a most posh street, reminiscent of the 50s Rome, the Rome of La Dolce Vita.

I had been twice to the Vatican museum, but it’s always a pleasure to go there, even with the crowds. The classical sculptures, the Egyptian and the Etruscan collections, the gorgeous Map gallery, the astounding Borgia apartments, the Rafael stanze, and of course the Sistine Chapel, are always a wonder. And there is now an excellent modern art collection along the Borgia rooms until the Sistine Chapel which is a wonderful add to the museum – I was really impressed.

We left the Vatican walking along the Bernini colonnade to the river, passing by Castel Sant’Angelo – of Hadrian’s memory – and by the Ara Pacis – of Ausgustus’ memory. The Piazza di Spagna again, and the posh via Condotti.

In our last day in Rome, we visited the Domus Aurea, what’s left of the megalomaniacal construction ordered by Nero. It’s a very interesting guided visit, and one wonders how they managed to build it in just a few years.

Leaving the Domus Aurea, we visited Santo Stefano, a most curious and interesting church, decorated with depictions of martyrdoms. Then we walked by the huge Caracalla Baths and to the Circus Maximus, now mostly a place for dog walking, and finished our stay buying books at a Feltrinelli bookstore.

Conclusion? I cannot wait to go to Italy again.