Alba
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“E tuttavia, amo anch'io il cinematografo; ma pur andandoci da tanti anni, non ho saputo farmene una cultura. Lui se ne è fatto, invece, una cultura: si è fatto una cultura di tutto quello che ha attratto la sua curiosità; e io non ho saputo farmi una cultura di nulla, nemmeno delle cose che ho più amato nella mia vita: esse sono rimaste in me come immagini sparse, alimentando sì la mia vita di memorie e di commozione ma senza colmare il vuoto, il deserto della mia cultura.”
― The Little Virtues
― The Little Virtues
“That was exactly what Tabucchi was suggesting with his title ("La Nostalgie du Possible") --that we can pass right by something very important: love, a job, moving to another city or another country. Or another life. 'Pass by' and at the same time be 'so close' that sometimes, while in that state of melancholy that is akin to hypnosis, we can, in spite of everything, manage to grab little fragments of what might have been. Like catching snatches of a far-off radio frequency. The message is obscure, yet by listening carefully you can still catch snippets of the soundtrack of the life that never was. You hear sentences that were never actually said, you hear footsteps echoing in places you've never been to, you can make out the surf on a beach whose sand you have never touched. You hear the laughter and loving words of a woman though nothing ever happened between you. The idea of an affiar with her had crossed your mind. Perhaps she would have liked that --probably, in fact-- but nothing every happened. For some unknown reason, we never gave in to the exquisite vertigo that you feel when you move those few centimeters towards the face of the other for the first kiss.”
― The Red Notebook
― The Red Notebook
“-"Vorrei che cresci rara come una giraffa in città, ma con l'istinto domestico del cagnolino (che a me è sempre mancato)", aveva scritto mia mamma, nella sua lettera. Di solito quindi bisognava scegliere: o la libertà di girare per il mondo come fosse una savana o l'istinto domestico, un collare col nome e qualcuno che ci porta dal veterinario. Ma la libertà lo sanno tutti che è una cosa bella e giusta: allora l'istinto domestico, se la esclude, che è? Brutto e sbagliato? Insomma che significa, esattamente, istinto domestico? Me lo chiedo ancora: stanotte, qui. Come si fa a capire se ce l'hai o se ti manca? E, se ce l'hai, perché devi rinunciare all'avventura della savana? -”
― Le luci nelle case degli altri
― Le luci nelle case degli altri
“Can you experience nostalgia for something that hasn’t happened? We talk of ‘regrets’ about the course of our lives, when we are almost certain we have taken the wrong decision; but one can also be enveloped in a sweet and mysterious euphoria, a sort of nostalgia for what might have been.”
― The Red Notebook
― The Red Notebook
“To quote Patrick Modiano, whom you you seem to like, in Villa Triste, 'There are mysterious beings, always the same, who watch over us at each crossroads in our lives.' Let's just say that, unintentionally, I have been one of those beings.”
― The Red Notebook
― The Red Notebook
Our Shared Shelf
— 222889 members
— last activity 9 hours, 37 min ago
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
The F-word
— 5762 members
— last activity Jan 16, 2026 02:23PM
This is our reading group for anybody who loves to read and identifies as a feminist. We'll be reading a variety of books that may fall into one of th ...more
Alba’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Alba’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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