- I have recently noticed how little I read from Spain, and I don’t mean Spanish-language authors, such as from Latin America, but just Spain. This year I read Tristana by Benito Pérez Galdós, but I feel like I barely scratched the surface with this author, and such lists as this one – The Greatest Spanish Literature of All Time – certainly inspire me to read more Spanish authors. Perhaps some of my readers are very versed in this, but I have only recently discovered that there are many great books and hidden gems. There are novels The Hive (La Colmena) and The Family of Pascual Duarte (La familia de Pascual Duarte) by Nobel Laureate Camilo José Cela, and The House of Ulloa by Emilia Pardo Bazán is also highly praised. When it comes to Javier Marías, I am now less convinced. Though I still want to read his novel A Heart So White, I found myself almost DNFing his book Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me. Though it is beautifully written, I found the story lacking in logic and believability. The situation there was really too preposterous, and I was not at all convinced that the main character was really “trapped” in an impossible situation.
Then, there is Time of Silence by Luis Martín-Santos Ribera. It is said to be “one most important Spanish novels of the twentieth century”, and I have also recently put into my TBR list Eduardo Mendoza’s The City of Marvels, which is “a novel describing the rise of the unspeakable Onofre Bouvila, an honestly self-seeking mafioso who starts in the gutters of Barcelona and leaves a trail of broken egos as he climbs up to his place in the sun” (goodreads). Perhaps I should do a Spanish Literature Challenge, similar to the one I did for Italy. Would you be interested to participate? 🇪🇸
Tag: Faber
My Piano Progress
My previous post was about classical piano music, and I thought I would do a post sharing my thoughts on learning piano from scratch at the age of thirty one without any previous knowledge of music. I first started learning the instrument around January 2020, but I am sad to report that since that time I have practised the piano on and off and even spent whole months without practising (up to four consecutive months without playing once), so my progress has been very slow and protracted. Nevertheless, I did make small progress, finished a couple of beginner books and enjoyed my journey. So, my notes below apply to *absolute adult beginners* and I hope the post will be interesting/useful at least to some of you who are considering picking up this instrument in future.
I. 3 things I wish I knew at the start of my piano-learning journey:
(i) It is important to learn to appreciate simple piano pieces and not try to produce Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata or some complicated piece by Chopin in the first year. Just because a piece of music sounds simple, it does not mean it cannot be beautiful and some Grade 1/2 pieces are just lovely (check out these – Krieger’s Minuet in A Minor, Purcell’s Air in D Minor or Beethoven’s Sonatina in G Major (my personal favourite)). Learning simple songs not only helps to lay down important technique foundation for more complex pieces to come in future, but also boosts confidence. I think no musical piece should be seen as too insignificant or “childish” to play and learning to appreciate the sound of every note/key pressed will go a long way; (ii) linked to the first, is the advice to avoid learning pieces that are way beyond one’s musical level. It is great to challenge oneself once in a while, but most of the time learning a musical piece way beyond one’s ability will be a difficult and disheartening task. Patience is key, and what may take you three months to learn now may be accomplished in three weeks a year or two from now; (iii) learning scales and arpeggios early will be beneficial, not only for exercising hands, but also for recognising and learning key signatures.
Continue reading “My Piano Progress”
Thoughts on Papyrus 