I'm almost finished reading Gerhard Kopf's PIRANESI'S DREAM, a 1992 autobiographical novel written in German, and translated into English in 2000. So far it is a very good read, and very architectural in its content, with lots of surprises like Piranesi's wife having been a high class prostitute/whore and full disclosure of Winckelmann's homosexuality (i.e., 'art history' beginning because some man loved young testicles, etc.). The whole book is written in the first person, with that person being the present dead Piranesi. Besides enjoying all of Piraneis's thoughts, I also find the book a quite interesting comment on architecture and its aesthetics today in that the course of human events is often so easily misguided. Piranesi is not a happy dead man, and he tells you why.

Here's an excerpt I find most inducing:

"But even worse was to come. I was assused of reveling in the ugly. What humbug! The theory of the fine arts, the legislation of good taste, the science of aesthetics were already highly developed and thoroughly refined in my time. Only the concept of the ugly, although they touched upon it everywhere, had remained behind. And actually what is ugly exists insofar as what is beautiful does. What is ugly comes into being from and with the beautiful. It is indignant at what is beautiful and likes to form an alliance with what is comical. In Nature what is ugly exists as little as what is beautiful or straight lines do, and it is a mistake to consider disease a cause of what is ugly. The realm of the ugly is much larger than the realm of sensual phenomena in general. Beautiful and ugly are not value opposites, rather at best opposites of stimulation. Concerning anything that is ugly it must be said that the relationship to what is beautiful that is neglected by it is included. Only what is ugly guarentees the aesthetic correction of tradition."

Just think about how true (and perhaps even axiomatic) that last sentence really is.

I just finished reading this book (it took me two days) and I have to say that it was quite a joy and a change from Maalouf's other books. The writing style is, as usual, first rate and the difference lies in it being more creative and philosophical. While reading it one cannot help but wonder about the state of our world and the very likely scenarios set out here. This is even more important today with the seemingly limitless possibilities expected from genetic manipulation now that the human genome has been cracked. A very enlightening book that is a joy to read.

The First century after Beatrice was a perfect read. Short, making you want it more than anything too go on! Amin Maalouf writes melodies of words, sentances that are beautiful... His characters are clear and imaginable, but maintain a shadowy edge, as if a slight magic mist is with them at all times. The story is good. Believable. I don't want to use the term science fiction for fear of bringing robots into your head, it's not that at all. It is the best sort of science fiction. Brilliantly written, believable unreality. You are guaranteed to enjoy. Love Mari a xx

I have started reading Maalouf's books with Semekand and have always been impressed with the well-researched, perfectly-written historically based books of him. This time he compeletely changes his style and still handles of the best books I have ever read in my whole life... Not only the political estimations but also the characters are deeply thought. The way he criticised the enthusiasm of todays world on gene cloning is really impressive. If you want to think about the North-South relationships on the globe next century, this book will give you a certain perspective for sure. You should also read the gender relationships throughout the world from such a creative point of view... Definetely worth reading. I recommended this book to everybody I know.