“We were fine, even if we had little. And maybe that’s not bad...”
We chose this book to open the second season of the “Stazione BooktoMi” festival because it is the one that more than any other new release in the last period makes the desire to return to the normal life we knew until March 2020 at its best: being together, hugging and sing at a concert until you have no more voice.
Focused on the life of one of the greatest Italian musical artists, indeed a real birthday gift for his seventy years, we feel we can define the book as a non-biography, a life told in seventy chapters centered on events that have formed Vasco Rossi man and artist. A certainly courageous choice on the part of the author who, however, collects his dividends, tending the reader glued to the pages, even those who are not really fond of the singer.
We particularly appreciated the small curiosities told, many of which lived directly by the author, Vasco’s longtime friend, and companion of youthful raids. A first-hand story, as few can find, is not a small detail.
We really enjoyed seeing the artist from a different perspective that is not that of the limelight, but that of man with his weaknesses, with the youthful poverty that accompanied his growth, with the hunger of the countryside that is part of these men. But that’s another story.
Despite the appearance, do not be fooled by the volume of the book. The text, halfway between a newspaper article and a diary of memories, flows away smoothly. If we then add to this the avalanche of memories that submerged us behind many events or songs told, we understand how we managed to have read it in two days without excessive effort. Also for this congratulations to the author who embarked on this adventure.
Do we recommend it? Yes, without a doubt, because even an uncommitted reading can be an unexpected cuddle.
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Marco Pagliettini, Massimo Poggini, 70 times Vasco, Baldini+Castoldi, Milano, 2021
