Editor's Note:
Mari Rodríguez Ichaso has been a contributor to Vanidades magazine for several decades.
He is a specialist in fashion, travel, gastronomy, art, architecture and entertainment.
Film producer and style columnist for CNN en Español.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely his own.
Read more opinion pieces at cnne.com/opinion.
(CNN Spanish) -
In the midst of uncertainty and the difficult reality of the covid-19 pandemic, the company of a good book is absolutely wonderful.
It may even be a salvation!
And it is very nice if that book is written by a woman - because in many cases her voice reflects our way of seeing life with greater sensitivity.
And that's why today I'm going to combine World Book Day with International Women's Day.
Since I was a child I have loved reading.
Before, in paper books and now (I confess, mea culpa), also in electronic versions on Kindle - but whatever the format, I can't imagine living without having a book at hand! - And perhaps by chance (or because they are better writers?), I have been fortunate to have many favorite authors, and some that in my career as a journalist I have been fortunate to meet and interview!
And choosing books that have marked me from a very young age - and even some that have changed my life, I want to recommend some ... Although here I must explain that not all are "deep books", those that are read more slowly, more "brainy", that even make us suffer a little and are more serious — but I also love those that are more frivolous, lighter, that amuse us and even make us dream.
Books that sometimes take us to a fantasy that lifts our spirits with glee.
And since it is very difficult for me to choose three - or even five - vital books for me, I will choose 12 - a dozen that I adore - and it will still be very painful to leave out many favorites.
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1.
The Diary of Anne Frank
A key book written by an intelligent German girl who died too young, in a Nazi concentration camp - and since its publication in 1947, has marked millions of people around the planet.
A book that we can read and reread –and in these days of “confinement” it is going to impact us even more.
2.
The good land
–An unforgettable classic–
The American Pearl Buck, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, is the author of
The Good Land
, a beautiful 1932 novel about the saga of a woman in China.
She was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her Book Club.
I read it when I was 12 or 13 and it was wonderful.
3.
Good morning, sadness
: a book that broke the mold
One of my super-favorite authors - Frenchwoman Françoise Sagan - revolutionized the world in 1954 with her daring
Good Morning, Sadness
, followed by the novel
A Certain Smile
.
When interviewing her in Paris, years later, I said to her: “You urged a whole generation of women to disobedience” - and your books, written when Sagan was only 19 years old, were widely criticized by cynics and groundbreaking, and I was They had a lot of impact.
And I was able to see life and love in a different light.
Mari Rodríguez Ichaso with the novelist Francoise Sagan in Paris.
4.
What men never know
The Austrian Vicki Baum is the author of the very romantic (and realistic!) Novel
What Men Never Know
, which marked me deeply - and made me cry - since I was a teenager.
La Baum wrote many novels that take place in hotels - as with his fascinating Grand Hotel (not to be confused with Hotel Shanghai) - and were taken to the movies.
5.
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier was an English author at the beginning of the 20th century who left us key books –and mysterious “thrillers” -, such as
Rebecca
and
The Birds
.
Both have been taken to the cinema and thus their work became well known.
Alfred Hitchcock directed the unforgettable
Rebecca
in 1940, with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.
A book that I loved and have read several times.
6.
Little Women
, by Louisa May Alcott
Taken back to the cinema in 2019, it is a very tender book, which promotes the love between sisters and is ideal to read at home, "as a family".
It may be a bit "old-fashioned" for the new generations, but it is perfect for those who love the traditions of a lifetime.
7.
Gone with the Wind
, by Margaret Mitchell
The great book on which he based the famous film is another classic that tells the saga of a southern family in the middle of the American Civil War.
I have seen the film at least 10 times, it is super romantic.
Scarlett O'Hara was spoiled, spoiled, but very beautiful and flirtatious - and the character of Rhett Butler has fallen in love with millions of women around the world to this day!
8.
Désirée
… and the adventures of Amber
I have always liked historical romantic novels, and
Désirée
, by Annemarie Selinko, is one of my favorite books (I have read it several times) about the fictional (and very romantic) life of Désirée Clary, Napoléon's fiancée.
Bride, who, by turns of history, years later would be Queen of Sweden, because together with her husband the marshal of the Napoleonic army –Jean-Baptiste Bernanotte – founded the current Royal House of Sweden!
You're going to love it!
And Marlon Brando plays Napoleon alongside Jean Simmons in the romantic film version.
And if you are looking for sensuality and history,
Forever Amber
, a super-sexy and fun novel, is about a seventeenth-century English courtesan named Amber St Clare - by American author Kathleen Winsor - it was an immediate
best seller
when it was published in 1944, at the end of WWII, when the public was apparently craving
light and sexy
books
!
9. Three of my favorite Latin American authors!
Many of the books of new voices and icons of our literature have been taken to the cinema.
Let me choose three books and three authors as number 9 of my selection, because it is difficult for me to choose just one!
They are:
The Cuban exiled in Paris -and multi-award winning- Zoé Valdés has among many books two wonderful works:
Everyday nothing
and
I gave you the whole life
.
Among my favorite books.
Mari Rodríguez Ichaso with the novelist Zoe Valdes in Paris.
Isabel Allende with
La casa de los espíritus
and
Paula
.
A Peruvian writer by birth and Chilean upbringing totally great.
Laura Esquivel is the fabulous Mexican author of
Como agua para chocolate
(“Like Water for Chocolate”) published in more than 35 languages and whose film is a charm!
Other Hispanic authors that I recommend: a) Elena Poniatowska and her book
La noche de Tlatelolco
are a
must
.
The Mexican-French author was awarded the 2013 Cervantes Prize. B) Sandra Cisneros –born in Chicago, of Mexican origin– rose to fame with her fabulous and award-winning
La Casa en Mango Street
.
c) Ana Merino –Nadal Prize 2020– and her new and fascinating novel
El mapa de los affections
.
d) Julia Álvarez, a Dominican raised in the United States, is the author of
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent
and the extraordinary book
In the Time of Butterflies
.
Do not miss them!
10. The Worlds of Jane Austen and Edith Wharton
The novels of the English author Jane Austen (1775-1817) are classics of literature and a window into the fascinating world of 18th century England, with its customs, rules and prejudices.
In them we will meet unforgettable characters and many surprising endings.
I recommend you get to know her, reading:
Emma
,
Amor y Amistad
("Love and Friendship"),
Pride and Prejudice
("Pride and Prejudice"),
Sensatez y feelings
("Sense and Sensibility") and
Mansfield Park
.
Many of his works have been taken to film and theater.
Another author that I love is Edith Wharton - 19th century and early 20th century - a great American novelist whose novels showed the struggles of women for equality.
And if you just read the book (and watch the film)
The Age of Innocence
("The Age of Innocence") you will agree with me.
11. Do you like the gothic and the mystery?
"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" is a perfect example of a gothic novel, as are the novels of Victoria Holt, the pseudonym of Eleanor Hibbert (I love them) - and the detective books of Agatha Christie.
And in recent times I have not missed the Susan Kiernan-Lewis mysteries that take place in Provence!
12. Poets and philosophers
Women dedicated to deep literature, with poetry or literary essays, come from all over the world: poets like the Chilean Gabriela Mistral, the Argentinian Alfonsina Storni and Silvina Ocampo, and the wonderful Cuban Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda.
Essays and diaries of the Cuban resident in Paris Anais Nin and the iconic feminist Simone de Beauvoir.
Without forgetting the sad realities of authors such as Sylvia Plath - and in Spain the extensive work of Emilia Pardo Bazán, a pioneer of 19th century literature and a great feminist and "liberated" woman - just as feminists such as Gloria have been in the 20th century. Steinem, Betty Friedman - and the super famous Virginia Woolf!
One idea that I love, now that you have my list - and I have commented before - is to recommend that you have your own Book Club.
Something that - through Zoom or FaceTime - they can share with family and friends.
Why not?
It would be something lovely that will entertain and delight you.
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