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| Salman Rushdie, Joseph Anton, Mondadori, Milano 2012 (immagine dal link) |
Le pagine sono tante ma godibilissime. Il tema attuale e molto interessante.
Una delle letture più appassionanti della mia estate è stato Joseph Anton di Salman Rushdie, titolo tratto dallo pseudonimo che l'autore, nella sua vita reale, scelse per la sua sopravvivenza in incognito dovuta alla pronuncia da parte dell’ayatollah Khomeini della sua condanna a morte in seguito alla pubblicazione de I Versi Satanici (ne scrissi in un brevissimo post qualche mese fa).
Nel libro, oltre al noto stile ironico e brillante di Rushdie, sorprende la sua totale onestà e trasparenza nel raccontare la propria vicenda: dal dramma della clandestinità durato ben otto anni, con le guardie del corpo costantemente in casa, alle sue intricate storie d'amore (quattro si susseguono lungo la sua reclusione) e amicizie molto influenti (Rushdie fu, e con alcuni tuttora, in intimità con scrittori del calibro di Bruce Chatwin, Ian McEwan, Paul Auster, Susan Sontag e moltissimi altri) ma anche e soprattutto ai retroscena del mondo editoriale britannico.
E' stata una vera goduria scoprire tutti i procedimenti, più o meno celati dalle case editrici, che si avvicendano nel corso della pubblicazione e gestione di un dato testo. O tutti i conflitti e gli accordi che ci possono essere fra editori o fra autore e editore.
E, per una volta, l'Italia non mi ha delusa. Nonostante nei periodi cruciali della condanna a morte di Rushdie, quando molte case editrici e librerie rinunciarono alla gestione del testo per paura di attentati e danni alle loro sedi (o addirittura omicidi, come nel caso del traduttore giapponese Hitoshi Igarashi), il direttore editoriale di Mondadori Giancarlo Bonacina accettò la sfida pubblicando il libro.
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| Gruppi di islamici nell'atto di protestare contro i Versi Satanici (immagine dal link) |
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| L'autore fu soprannominato dagli islamici Shetan Rushdie (immagine dal link) |
Ma ho imparato qualcosina anche dal punto di vista del collezionismo librario.
Ad esempio non sapevo che vi furono due "vere prime edizioni" de I Versi Satanici, dopo quella ufficiale che avrete visto nel mio post sopra menzionato.
La prima, rarissima, edizione è quella in 12 esemplari contrassegnati in lettere romane e firmati, con sovraccoperta muta color beige. In merito Rushdie nel libro racconta di aver dovuto sborsare 2200 sterline per ottenerla dal libraio antiquario Rick Gekoski che lo aveva in vendita.
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| Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses, Viking, London 1988 (immagine dal link) |
La seconda fu quella in 100 esemplari numerati e firmati, identica all'altra nel suo aspetto esterno, copertina in mezza pelle e titoli in oro al dorso. Entrambe erano racchiuse in un cofanetto blu.
Le valutazioni per ciascun esemplare al momento si aggira fra i 1000 e i 2000 euro.
There are lot of pages but very pleasant. The topic is very interesting and up-to-date.
One of my beloved books of this summer was Salman Rushdie's Joseph Anton, which title comes from the pseudonym he choosed tu survive from the ayatollah Khomeini's death pronunciation after his book The Satanic Verses (I wrote about it in a short post).
In the book, besides the ironic and brilliant author's style, it's remarkable his total onesty about his life during the reclusion (that last 8 years): from the annoying thing of having bodyguards non stop at home, to his complicated love stories (there were four during that time), to his influent relationships (he was, and with somebody still is, friend with important names like Bruce Chatwin, Ian McEwan, Paul Auster, Susan Sontag and many others) but especially to the British publishing world behind the scenes.
I found very interesting to discover all the processess usually hidden by the publishers that follow publishing and all the conflicts and agreements between publishers or between authors and publishers.
And, once in a while, Italy didn't disappoint me. Althoug many publishers and bookshops during the crucial times of Rushdie's condamnation had a lot of fear and they renounced to print the book (for example the japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi was killed), the Mondadori's editor Giancarlo Bonacina accepted the challenge and published it.
But I've learned something from the collecting point too.
For example that there were two "real firsts editions" of The Satanic Verses, after the official one about which I wrote in the post I mentioned.
The first, extremely rare, is the one in 12 copies numbered in roman letters and signed, with the unprinted dust jacket. Rushdie in the book remembers that he was obliged to spend 2200 pounds to buy it from the bookseller Rick Gegoski that was having it for sale.The second one was of 100 numbered and signed copies, the same as the first one, in a quarter blue morocco, blue cloth boards, titles to spine gilt. Both were housed in a blue cloth box.
The estimations for each copy are at the moment going from 1000 to 2000 euros.
There are lot of pages but very pleasant. The topic is very interesting and up-to-date.
One of my beloved books of this summer was Salman Rushdie's Joseph Anton, which title comes from the pseudonym he choosed tu survive from the ayatollah Khomeini's death pronunciation after his book The Satanic Verses (I wrote about it in a short post).
In the book, besides the ironic and brilliant author's style, it's remarkable his total onesty about his life during the reclusion (that last 8 years): from the annoying thing of having bodyguards non stop at home, to his complicated love stories (there were four during that time), to his influent relationships (he was, and with somebody still is, friend with important names like Bruce Chatwin, Ian McEwan, Paul Auster, Susan Sontag and many others) but especially to the British publishing world behind the scenes.
I found very interesting to discover all the processess usually hidden by the publishers that follow publishing and all the conflicts and agreements between publishers or between authors and publishers.
And, once in a while, Italy didn't disappoint me. Althoug many publishers and bookshops during the crucial times of Rushdie's condamnation had a lot of fear and they renounced to print the book (for example the japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi was killed), the Mondadori's editor Giancarlo Bonacina accepted the challenge and published it.
But I've learned something from the collecting point too.
For example that there were two "real firsts editions" of The Satanic Verses, after the official one about which I wrote in the post I mentioned.
The first, extremely rare, is the one in 12 copies numbered in roman letters and signed, with the unprinted dust jacket. Rushdie in the book remembers that he was obliged to spend 2200 pounds to buy it from the bookseller Rick Gegoski that was having it for sale.The second one was of 100 numbered and signed copies, the same as the first one, in a quarter blue morocco, blue cloth boards, titles to spine gilt. Both were housed in a blue cloth box.
The estimations for each copy are at the moment going from 1000 to 2000 euros.
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