Måndagsmöte: Alberto Manguel

Alberto Manguel skriver så ömsint och nördigt om böcker att man vill sova i en bädd av läderband och andas, äta, inta litteraturen. Jag läser hans ”Nattens Bibliotek” och ”En historia om läsning” och älskar varje rad, säger ”oh! ah!” och vill högläsa varenda mening. Manguel hade dock skrivit massor av böcker innan jag upptäckte honom, till exempel ”Stevenson Under The Palm Trees”.

What do you read right now?

I’ve been lucky with my recent readings. Right now I’m enjoying a superb historical novel by Spanish writer Antonio Orejudo, ”Reconstrucción” (Tusquets, 2005) set in the sixteenth century and concerning the question of religious freedom. And I recently finished, in French translation, a novel by the Russian Mihail Chichkine, ”The Hair of Venus”, (Vagrius, Moskow, 2005) which I think is one of the most powerful, most original novels on the theme of human injustice that I’ve ever read.

How come you choose this books?

I didn’t choose this books: they chose me. The first was recommended by a Spanish writer friend, the second by a Paris bookseller.

Where do you read?

I read everywhere: in my library, at my desk, in bed, on the toilet, during meals, in the train. I’m always reading, except when I listen to music or watch the news on TV.

What is your most important book?

My most important book is the one I have not yet read.

Have you always been a reader?

Yes!

This Thursday is Valentine’s day, which is your most romantic book?

The most romantic book I know is Pablo Neruda’s ”Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair”.