"Riccardo, the West is sick, it's lost its will to fight, it opposes Islamic fundamentalism with empty values. Europe has become spineless. I'm near the end, Riccardo, and I want to die in Florence. I told you that in New York. And now the time has come. But I'll die standing on both my feet, like Emily Bronte." No other writer or journalist from the 20th century was able to raise debates as Oriana Fallaci was. Her books, translated all over the world, her news reports and her invectives in the main international newspapers made her one of the top protagonists of literature and journalism. Nencini, a friend of hers, reports the entire day they spent together shortly before her death tackling the most burning topical subjects such as the Western Crisis, Terrorism and European Identity. With this book Nencini shows us a new Fallaci, the private woman, unveiling many unknown aspects, a woman eaten up by illness but still free and defiant. Special Award Neva Bazzichi 2007 Winner - Extraordinary Award Scrittore toscano dell'anno 2007. 1st English, limited edition, October 2008.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Final conversation between friends,
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This review is from: Oriana Fallaci: I'll Die Standing on My Feet (Libro verita) (Paperback)
Riccardo Nencini is a scholar, author and politician, currently premier of the Italian region of Tuscany. His essay recounts a day spent with Oriana Fallaci shortly before her death on 15 September 2006. Nencini chronicles their final dialogue moment by moment. They smoked a lot, alone in that small room in Florence in which there was almost nothing besides champagne and cigarettes. The author thinks that in preparing for death, Oriana wanted to prove that she did not need much more from this life, not even food.
They discussed many things: how to face death, the decline of the West, the peril of terrorism, the role of the USA and the sorry state of Europe. The specter of Eurabia recurs in the conversation, considered from many angles. Living in New York City in retirement, Oriana was universally popular with the media until the publication of The Rage and The Pride, her blistering response to the 9/11 atrocity. In her own words, she was trying to 'open the eyes of those who refuse to see, unplug the ears of those who refuse to hear and ignite the thoughts of those who refuse to think'. That made her fall foul of the politically correct media and the multicultural elites of Europe. Undaunted, she continued speaking out in articles and interviews in both the Italian and American media. She contemptuously referred to her choir of critics as "cicadas," called the European Union a "pit of Pontius Pilates" and railed against European antisemitism and its return under the mask of anti-Zionism. Although in her earlier career she had harshly criticized the Israelis, she became one of Israel's most courageous defenders, publishing articles like the eloquent and inspired "I Stand with Israel, I stand with the Jews." The aforementioned book was translated into all the major European languages and sold in the millions despite the insults, legal actions and death threats from various quarters. She followed it up with La Forza della Ragione which was finally published in English in 2006 as The Force of Reason. It is another tour de force, more measured than the previous book but not entirely devoid of her trademark fury and sense of humor. In essence, The Force of Reason is a comprehensive analysis of the perilous intellectual climate in the democracies and the alarming spread of terrorism, a much-needed antidote to a set of widely held false beliefs, and an impassioned wake-up call to the West. With Nencini she also spoke of her famous interviews with politicians, the city of Florence, her childhood, the Second World War and her illness which she called "the alien." Defiant to the end, she refused to give her killer any recognition. It was the same Oriana that Nencini had always known: passionate, intelligent and sharp of mind & tongue yet witty, capable of tenderness and fragile at times. The room she chose for her last conversation with her friend is situated in a part of Florence overlooking the Arno River where her father's group of partisans fought against Mussolini and the Germans in World War II. Nencini provides a moving portrait of the brilliant Italian author who represented the golden decades of Europe. The dialogue captures her essence, her intelligence, passion and convictions as well as her kindness, her concern for the oppressed and her courage. Until a proper biography appears, this little booklet will do. To learn more about Oriana's fear for the future of civilization, I recommend Menace in Europe by Claire Berlinski who mentions Fallaci in her book, While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer, Icarus Fallen and The Unlearned Lessons of the Twentieth Century by Chantal Delsol, Eurabia by Bat Ye'or and The Last Days of Europe by Walter Laqueur.
3.0 out of 5 stars
unfortunately, i wish i could have read this in Italian,
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This review is from: Oriana Fallaci: I'll Die Standing on My Feet (Libro verita) (Paperback)
I haven't the skill for it, though. That said, I felt as though i was a bit of a voyeur. Momentary glimpses into some moments before her death offer one a view of Fallaci in decline, but the brevity of the segments would make you feel as though you were eavesdropping on her conversation. There's obviously more to these last meetings than what is on the page. Is she still resiliently defiant? Absolutely. And her great love for A Man, who is buried in her family gravesite, still resonates with her. But there is no great revelation, no final proclamation, no last treatise, just a few days in which one goes about putting a few last things in order. There is a sadness to that, really. And maybe that is how it should be. As I said, I felt as though I were eavesdropping on private moments. As my mother was dying, she wanted no visitors, and then received everyone who came to call. In the end, it was just us and there were a few last instructions and observations. I guess it's just none of my business what Fallaci's last observations were. This little portrait is a fleeting last glance.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Light fare,
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This review is from: Oriana Fallaci: I'll Die Standing on My Feet (Libro verita) (Paperback)
I would not recommend this to anyone who is not a hardened Oriana fan. I have only read one of her other books and it was a knockout, It was 'The Force of Reason'. Read this first and the 2 other books in that series. This is a serious person. This small volume does not do her justice. Go for the meat and get the potatoes later - if you have time.
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