Proustian Nabokov

"Speak, Memory", Nabokov's delicious memoir of his cosseted childhood in pre-revolutionary Russia, is often strongly reminiscent of Proust: the voluptuous style, the tender evocation of minute details, the precise, tactile and sensuous descriptions, even some episodes - for example, his train of thought as he waits for his mother's good night kiss. And how this sophisticated, refined world collapsed almost overnight... There are always barbarians at the gate.

A cuban memoir

Reinaldo Arenas' memoir "Antes que anochezca" is a harrowing tale of sexual frenzy, political repression and literary courage set in Cuba in the 60's and 70's. In the cuban hothouse, a petty, implacable communist tyranny corrupts, suffocates or crushes all opposition and dissent. Writers and homosexuals are a particular target. Somehow, amidst terrible difficulties, Arenas manages to smuggle first his manuscripts and them himself out of the island and finally taste a little freedom in the US before succumbing to the Aids epidemic. It is important to read such testimonies every once in a while to be reminded of the value of political freedom and material comfort such as we enjoy  in the West. 

Wagner: an acquired taste

What seemed forbidding is now bewitching; dull and ponderous it sounded, now it appears deliciously lyrical, dramatic and moving. For hours the attention never flags; the attention is rapturously held by the unfolding drama. Yesterday, at the Liceo,  "The Walkyries" cast their spell. The audience held its breath; nothing moved except on stage. At the end a storm of applause as I had never heard in this city.