This article on Christmas gifts is published in issue 50 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until 10 December 2024.
Even if we pretend not, the Christmas gift worm has already crept into us. And even if we try to ignore or remove it, we already know that in the end we will give these blessed gifts: they might as well be sensible and heartfelt. This year I’m going for small artistic artefacts, vintage objects and books by women writers.
Here are some: Believe in the wild spirit (Bompiani), by anthropologist Nastassja Martin, tells of when in 2015 during a mission in Kamcatka she was attacked by a bear. Between shamanism, psychoanalysis and anthropology, he inspired me a lot. Because “at the bottom of the frozen woods there is no answer: you first learn to suspend your thoughts and let yourself be taken by the rhythm, that of life that organizes itself to stay alive in a winter forest”. The wonderful trilogy by Deborah Levy (NN Publisher): Things I don’t want to know, The cost of living And Real estate. They are poetic, feminine, feminist memoirs that speak to all of us. Trust me. **Interlude (Einaudi) by Sally Rooney is perhaps her best book. It tells what a disaster the family can be, and what a consolation. From Sad tiger **(Neri Pozza) I have already spoken to you about Neige Sinno: don’t be afraid of it even if it tells of a terrible abuse. It is a very strong and fascinating work about evil. A Meridiano (Mondadori) of Agatha Christie’s works edited by Antonio Moresco has just been released: Yellow fairy tales. A gem. All my beautiful things are redone (Feltrinelli) by Fumettibrutti is his most mature graphic novel. About identity, about integrity, painful and moving. Do you want to read at least one book by this year’s Nobel Prize winner for literature, the Korean Han Kang? I recommend **The vegetarian **or **I’m not saying goodbye **(Adelphi). They’re not light novels, but they have beautiful language and they all talk about our discomfort in the face of the world’s violence.
On the centenary of the birth of Goliarda Sapienza, one of her lesser-known titles, very dear to me, is **The university of Rebibbia **(Einaudi). Goliarda is arrested for the theft of jewels and ends up in Rebibbia prison.
With her sensitivity as a writer she tells a reality full of humanity and classism: like and worse than now.
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
