If you had to move to a country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
The answer is basically the same as always to this question: France.
The country’s background is rich in history and to be able to see the magnificent buildings up-close, to walk down that cobblestone street in Avignon, take pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, holiday in the French Riveria, get lost in the Palace of Versailles where my favorite King once lived, to watch a football match at the Parc des Princes, to eat in the oldest French city…
What color would you like your bedroom to be?
It is already in the color I want it to be: blue, my favorite.
What makes you Happy? Make a list of things in your life that bring you joy.
So many things make me happy! I’ll just list the first six things that come to mind.
* His Word!
* Waking up every morning to see another day.
* My family and friends.
* Sunrises and sunsets.
* Pancake, macaroni pie, and tiramisu.
* You wonderful readers.
What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This past week was a blur! It just went by so fast that I did not have the time to sit and write the articles that I wanted to work on for the blog. Things got pushed back and my writing stalled for just a little bit, but I am utmost grateful to have made it through the week.
A short sublime book on the three things dearest to Jean-Claude Izzo’s heart: his native Marseilles, the sea in all its splendor, and Mediterranean noir – the literary genre his books helped to found. This collection of writings shows Izzo, author of the acclaimed Marseilles trilogy, at his most contemplative and insightful. His native city, with its food, its flavors, , its passionate inhabitants, and its long, long history of commerce and conviviality, constitute the lifeblood that runs through all of Izzo’s work.
Author: Jean-Claude Izzo Publisher: Europa Editions (May 7, 2013) Chapters: 13 wonderful short stories Pages: 107
The founder of the modern Mediterranean noir movement, Izzo passed away in 2000 at the age of fifty-five. He was the son of immigrant parents: a Naples barman and a Spanish seamstress. He used this experience in his work to make it more realistic.
This book was TERRIFIC!
The writer blew my rooftop off!
Izzo’s stories showed passionate affection and love for his beloved Marseilles and Mediterranean coast. Nostalgia at its best. I wish I can write that way about Trinidad. I was there with him as I took that visionary trip to Marseilles. I could taste the food, smell the air and hear the people.I took a vacation without leaving the comfort of my bed and I loved it!
The beautiful list:
THE MEDITERRANEAN AND ITS NOIR
The Mediterranean: Possibilities for Happiness
Wherever he traveled, he took with him ‘a geography of possibilities for happiness’. He discovered, loved and appreciated his country for what it was.
Listening to the Sea
Just what the title says.
I Am At Home Everywhere
“It’s when I think about them that my feet start to itch, and I take out my cardboard suitcase and dream of setting off. To go and meet them, and share what we have in common, the pleasure of the universe. The pleasure I taste when, at home, in the still of the air of summer and noon, I read Louis Owens and put myself in the shoes of an Indian.”
This was one of my absolute favorite shorts to read and I treasure it because I can relate. Books take us to places beyond our front doors and we escape reality, but, for a short time “With a guidebook in our hands and a return ticket in our pockets.” Sometimes I wish I did not have to return.
The Blue and the Black
This story is basically about how Greek tragedies were born.
“In the beginning of the Book. And that moment in which Cain kills his brother Abel. In the blood of this fratricide, the Mediterranean gives us the first noir novel.
There may have been other murders before this, but this one is written downand establishes forever the singular problem of mankind: that crime is the driving force that, over the centuries, will govern relationships between people. Whoever they are. Masters or servants. Princes or emperors. Free men or slaves. In the beginning, indeed, all the motives for murder already existed. Envy, jealousy. Desire, fear. Money. Power. Hatred. Hatred of others. Hatred of the world.”
There is something truthfully chilling in those words! The Bible is there for us to learn from. It is there to make sure that mankind does not make the same mistakes as their ancestors once did, but alas! We’re living in terrible times where people don’t care about their own sanity.
MARSEILLES
Marseilles is in my Heart
“I was born in Marseilles. Of an Italian father and a Spanish mother. One of those crossbreeds to which this city holds the secret. Nobody is ever born in Marseilles by chance. Marseilles is, and has always been, the port of exiles, of Mediterranean exiles, of exiles from former colonial routes, too.”
I Like to Feel Marseilles Pulsating Beneath My Tongue
All about food!
“As many people have said: there is no innovation in the cuisine of Marseilles, no fusion, just self-perpetuation. Eating takes us back to our countries. To sit down to a meal, whether at home or in a restaurant, with our families or with our friends, is to recover our memories.”
Garlic
“The first girl I ever kissed smelled of garlic. It was in a hut in Les Goudes, at that hour on a summer’s day when adults take an afternoon nap. I learned, that year I turned fifteen, to love garlic.”
Mint
“We love mint for its smell. It’s the most popular. Ask us to name a plant that smells good, and it is mint, and only mint, that comes to mind.”
Basil
Another one of his favorite smells.
Here, My Darling, Taste This
“Words exchanged amid the noise and bustle: “Fire! Fire! My watermelon’s on fire!” Spoken in that drawling accent that takes time to say things. “Here, my darling, taste this!”
Marseilles: A Musical Trading Post
The music of the city that captivated his soul.
Marseilles Between Sea and Light
An ode to the sea and the bay.
FABIO MONTALE
Fabio Montale’s Christmas Dinner
I want to read more of this Montale character.
Jean-Claude Izzo on Fabio Montale
Fabio Montale’s Favorite Places
Fabio Montale’s Music
Fabio Montale’s Books
I recommend this book for foodies, Francophile, and literature lovers.
Your entire community — however you define that; your hometown, your neighborhood, your family, your colleagues — is guaranteed to read your blog tomorrow. Write the post you’d like them all to see.
Whatever for? They can read the posts that I normally post on a daily for I am certain they’ll find something that they can identify with.
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