REVIEW: Nine Sufi Tales by Paola Marchi

Welcome back book lovers. Today I finally have the time to adequately talk about a text I have come across. It is “Nine Sufi Novels” Illustrated by Paola Marchi and published by Fontana Editore in the Gli Esoterini series, to whom I renew my heartfelt compliments and thanks for what is made available to readers.

I said I met him and I speak of him as a person, or rather I could speak of a small group of people, because things, narratives, the living, the non-living, always cross your path at the right time. Furthermore, this text, with its innocent and calm appearance, is imbued with lives and knowledge, cultures, traditions, ideas and thoughts. All with the addition of Paola's work. You will understand well how much can be had between these pages only if you manage to walk among them, just like in an immense library or a monument.

“Remember the rules to be happy:
1) Never hate anyone.
2) Always be generous without expecting anything in return.
3) Love more… “

But to make you understand what I am talking about, it will be necessary for me to delve into a detailed and orderly account. The text, as anticipated by the title, will bring you to the knowledge of Nine narratives taken directly from the world and the Sufi tradition, coming from Persia, Arabia and Turkey, transmitted through time both orally and in written form. They are practical tools that you will have at your disposal, tools for life as it is modernly indicated for all those useful solutions that can be implemented and achieved daily.

Be Dervishes and look out to observe.

The first thing you will encounter will be a short instruction manual, because the book is yours, but to best grasp its content, you will have to follow some very important rules. But isn't it just a simple children's book? Sure, it is that too, but not only that! And in any case, children deserve the best and are not something to be taken lightly, quite the opposite, but with a smile. So once read, follow the instructions and grasp together with your children, who will surely help you understand the most important contents.

In the introduction you can begin to read vital fragments of these pages, intertwined with tradition, the future and a nice gentleman named Gabriele Mandel Khan . The author of the stories is not Paola, but she deserves the enormous credit for having collected so much information, searched among the various versions of short stories for the most enjoyable ones to share, the enjoyment and sharing of the sources from which the stories come, and finally the beautiful idea of ​​illustrating in her own way the stories that deserved adequate accompaniment to be presented to the little ones.

The drawings are really beautiful, especially the spontaneous ones of the first group. The stories are a bit cryptic, because their reading can be done at various levels, but this is a consideration that I tend to keep as a general rule, in fact it also depends a lot on the reader and how he chooses to direct his gaze.

The thing that struck me most about this book is that it changes from one reading to the next. Every time you encounter a story, you will encounter a story with some detail different from before and then it will be like talking to a different narrator. The words, the metrics, the wisdom with which they were written belong to an ancient knowledge passed down from generation to generation. The stimuli you will receive are comparable to the drop that erodes the rock, but they will have faster effects than it. πάντα ῥεῖ «Everything flows» said the Greeks.

More modernly, the concept of perception has been added, already present then, but differently supported by technology and some missing theory. You will change obviously, but it will be interesting to observe how many ideas will be born in your universe, conscious and instinctive.

This collection was born with the intent of reviving a tradition and spreading some old, but wise and classic, timeless, extremely useful narratives.

Spend some time in the company of this group of wise men, animals and scholars. To make it all more enjoyable there will be some fabulous works of art.

The curiosity that may arise within you and your children will surely take you far. Just think of how far these groups of words have traveled to reach you, through time and geographical distances.

Is it still a book for children?

Of course, it is not a manual and it does not even belong to the non-fiction, but in my opinion it should be considered a very interesting text, with its own personality and evolution.

Obviously I recommend it to all those parents who want to read beautiful stories to their children, but also and above all to those people who want to share and exchange with children as they grow.

Therefore I also extend the invitation to nursery school teachers and I also find it suitable, due to its structure, for the first classes of primary school.

Of course, it is of little use to reiterate how plastic the content of these pages is, interesting and ageless… so to you, finally, yes to you, who are adults, but still curious and interested in discovery. This book, I confide to you secretly and in confidence, let it remain between us, but you would do well to read it sometime.

Well, I hope I have told you enough, now I just have to say goodbye and wish you a Happy Reading. Thank you Paola Marchi and Thank you Rocco Fontana.

See you soon.

Paola Marchi was born in Seravezza in 1975. She graduated in Modern Literature at the University of Pisa and published her thesis entitled “Cinema and Painting in Giorni d'amore” in the volume Giorni d'amore, Lindau, Turin, 2003. She attended the nude school at the Art Academy of Carrara (Ms) where she learned the basics of freehand drawing and engraving techniques. She actively dedicates herself to painting and sells on Italian and foreign commissions.

Paola Marchi is also the author of a blog about Art and Spirituality, go and take a look: http://chiaralampo.blogspot.com

Written by Marco Chabod

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