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The Island of What Could Have Been: Back to the Middle Lands

Book by Pierenrico Gottero · 2 quotes · Mirror Reflection, Mirrors Reflection, Novel

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The Island of What Could Have Been: Back to the Middle Lands Quotes

“It was then that I understood something essential: once a book is published, it no longer belongs to you. It takes on a life of its own. It begins to walk on its own legs, like a child who has chosen a direction. And most of all, no reader simply reads it — they see themselves reflected in it. And what they see — or what they refuse to see — depends far more on them than on you.”

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Book:The Island of What Could Have Been: Back to the Middle Lands
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“....a tirade against Paolo Sorrentino’s film The Great Beauty........It struck me. But what struck me even more was what happened a few months later, when I finally saw the film and, at the same time, got to know him better. And I realized he was exactly one of the characters Sorrentino had portrayed: obsessed with appearances, caught up in social rituals, incapable of deep desire. A man tired on the inside, moving through the world like an actor on a stage with no more script. That’s when I understood: it wasn’t the film that had disturbed him. It was the reflection it had given him. He had recognized himself — and that had frightened him. That kind of fear that makes you say: “How dare you judge me?” when in reality, no one has judged you. You’ve simply seen yourself. And sometimes, seeing ourselves is far more unsettling than being seen.”

Mirror ReflectionMirrors ReflectionPaolo SorrentinoThe Great Beauty
Book:The Island of What Could Have Been: Back to the Middle Lands
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