Alfred Engelander Livres

Isabel Allende se confie : "Presque toute ma vie, j'ai été une étrangère, condition que j'accepte car je n'ai pas d'alternative. Plusieurs fois, je me suis vue obligée de partir en brisant des liens et en laissant tout derrière moi, pour recommencer ma vie ailleurs." Ayant choisi l'exil après le coup d'État du 11 septembre 1973 au Chili, Isabel Allende s'est engagée sur le chemin de la littérature. Aujourd'hui, sur un ton léger et émouvant, elle nous livre son Chili mythique, imaginé dans l'exil, territoire de sa nostalgie, seul pays où elle ne se sente pas une étrangère. Ce portrait contrasté du Chili, où sont évoquées sa géographie, son histoire, sa culture ou ses mentalités, est entremêlé de souvenirs et de pensées personnelles qui retracent tout le chemin d'une vie. La famille extravagante, l'enfance, les rencontres, les voyages. Isabel Allende dévoile les origines et donne les clés des personnages et des lieux qui sont la matière de son œuvre romanesque.

Inspired by a fascination with Galileo and the letters of his daughter, a cloistered nun, Sobel has crafted a biography of the man hailed by Einstein as the "father of modern physics." This work presents a portrait of a previously overlooked figure, described by Galileo as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness & most tenderly attached to me." Born in 1564, Galileo Galilei initially sought a monastic life before becoming the leading scientist of his time. Despite never leaving Italy, his inventions and discoveries gained international acclaim, notably his telescopes, which revealed a new celestial reality and supported the heliocentric model. This belief led to his trial for heresy by the Holy Office of the Inquisition, resulting in house arrest for his final years. His eldest illegitimate daughter, Virginia, born in 1600, mirrored his brilliance and became his confidante after being placed in a convent at age 13, taking the name Suor Maria Celeste. Her unwavering support provided Galileo with strength during his tumultuous years. Sobel translates their letters, enriching the narrative and illuminating the contrasting worlds of Galileo's public life and Maria Celeste's seclusion. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the Medicis and the papal court, during a time when humanity's understanding of its place in the cosmos was shifting dramatically amidst the devastation of the bubonic plague and the Thirty Years' War.