Tuesday,
June 19, 2007
Being Italian is a Full-time Job: Beppe Severgnini in "La
Bella Figura"
The
ANNOTICO Report
It
is Not only interesting how differently people in your
own culture view and review a book, But even more interesting the thoughts of
those from an entirely different Culture. This is from The Hindu in
Be
sure you read down far enough to review the 4 "I"s
and the 4 "G"s of being Italian. It
Being
Italian is a Full-Time Job
Where
cars are an extension of the womb
The
Hindu
By
D. Murali
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Being
Italian is a full-time job, begins Beppe Severgnini in La Bella Figura
(www.landmarkonthenet.com). The book, an insiders guide to the
Italian mind, is a 10-day tour of 30 places, including Malpensa,
He
describes his country as an offbeat purgatory, full of proud, tormented
souls each of whom is convinced he or she has a
hotline to the boss. Italians are prepared to give up a lot for the sake
of beauty, even when it doesnt come in a
miniskirt, frets Severgnini.
We
judge books by their covers, politicians by their smiles, professionals by
their offices, secretaries by their posture, table lamps by their design, cars
by their styling and people by their title, he writes. No different,
closer home.
Do
you know why
The
courtesy is not as superficial as in other countries, nor
passionate as some non-Italians believe it to be. Its a combination
of intuition (this is what the customer wants), professionalism (this is what
Im supposed to do), kindness (thou shalt coddle
thy neighbour as thyself), shrewdness (a happy
customer is a less demanding customer), and good sense (it takes just as much
effort to be rude as it does to be polite). Useful
lessons.
Severgnini is eloquent about the cars on
The
alternative uses of the car are growing, informs Severgnini.
In our cars, we telephone, argue, deal, wait, drink, confess our sins,
warm our hands, slake our thirsts, listen to music,
catch up on the news and fiddle with the instruments Cars are still where
people woo and seduce. So much so, to some,
performance in a car is more important than the performance of a car.
The
book wraps with 4 "I"s in the Italian mind
that can confuse: intelligence (overused to the point of
exasperation), intuition (almost uncanny), intentions (not
always accompanied by good groundwork), and intimacy (admirable, but
sometimes you dont know when to stop).
And
there are 4 "G" s that are enviable: genius (in everyday behaviour), gusto (keen enjoyment good
taste), guts (the way they tackle lifes complications), and
generosity (a foreigner is never an outsider in
Helpful
insights, youd agree.
http://BookPeek.blogspot.com
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