The writer Marta Sanz explains in her review of “The Peace of the Beehives”, which was awarded our book of the week, that the Swiss author Alice Rivaz (1901-1998) had already proposed in 1947 the alternative to the then permanent state of war – a peaceful reality, invented by women. Her proposal is to create a world where women do not perpetuate masculine values that have increased all inequality gaps since the beginning of time. Rivaz was a civil servant at the International Labor Organization, writer, musicologist and journalist. On the borderline between a newspaper, an essay and a novel, she built a seminal challenge to patriarchy, in which she explored romantic love, alienating domestic work and, in general, any reductionist notion of women’s role in society.
Another interesting essay is Arde París by Iñaki Gil, in which the journalist analyzes the identity crisis that France is going through, a nation where two out of three citizens believe their country is in decline and where only city dwellers, winners of globalization and graduates have confidence in their future.
Other books reviewed by Babelia’s critics this week include Marcelo Donadello’s novels Chéljelon, a book of short stories that combine to form a circular novel; In a short distance where María Codes weaves characters and storylines around an old murder caused by political hatred; or Diana Tempest, by the elegant and precise late 19th-century writer Mary Cholmondelay. Finally, the titles “El ritmo infinito, an essay on the origins and evolution of music”, Michael Spitzer; The Ultimate Mystery by Jeremy Narby; and the complete works of the classical writer Hesiod, who along with Homer founded Western thought.
With a mixture of diary, essay and fiction, Alice Rivaz anticipated the contradictions, vulnerabilities and longings of a woman in 1947. Criticism of Marta Sanz
Through a rare balance, Marcelo Donadello tensions the genres of novel and history in one outstanding book. Criticism of Carlos Pardo.
María Codes’ novel is an exemplary exercise in character and drama construction, though it doesn’t fully explain the tragic murder that underlies it. Criticism by J. Ernesto Ayala-Dip.
Mary Cholmondeley is one of the great English novelists with elegant writing, full of meaning and great quality of expression. Criticism of José María Guelbenzu.
The veteran journalist analyzes the country’s identity crisis, in which two out of three citizens believe their society is in decline. Criticism of Carmen Domingo.
In a monumental essay, Michael Spitzer traces the development of music from the dawn of mankind to the present, without forgetting the devastating effects of colonialism on the appreciation of non-Western music. Review by Mercedes Cebrian.
Faced with the notion that humans are the only intelligent beings on this planet, the Canadian scientist defends the existence of other types of natural intelligence. Criticism of Juan Arnau.
Pessimism about human nature, along with Homer, dominates the thinking of the founder of Western knowledge. The author sang about the myths and rites of the people as well as the origin of the cosmos and its gods. Criticism of Manel García.
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