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Review by Maria Teresa De Donato “Sometimes, to see the mountain peak, one must sweep away the clouds.” (Helgna, p. 11, 2025 – Italian Edition) While reading this splendid novel titled Il Mare di Basang (= Basang’s Sea) —written by the Mongolian author Helgna and translated by Sinologist, author, and publisher Fiori Picco (Fiori D’Asia Editrice, 2025)—I…
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by Maria Teresa De Donato & Horst Koeltze Review by Elisa Rubini “You and Your Schoolchild” argues that the transformation of schools into systems focused on OECD international assessments has fundamentally undermined pedagogical freedom and the human dimension of education. By examining how students and teachers are pushed into a production-oriented model that prioritizes efficiency and…
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Fiori Picco’s Poetry Anthology Review by Maria Teresa De Donato Following the novels Red Jade – A Life for Freedom, YAO, and The Butterfly Women’s Circle – Mugao and Bhaktu, Fiori Picco presents this literary work in verse, Siamo tutti di passaggio in terra di frontiera (= We Are All Transients in Borderland). While her novels had familiarized readers with certain…
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Edited by Elisa Rubini There comes a moment in life when memories are no longer a refuge or even an obstacle; they become a silent tribunal that demands our understanding of who we have truly become. Ocean of Senses by Maria Teresa De Donato is born precisely in that gap, where the past is no longer a…
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A collection of short stories by Maria Teresa De Donato Review by Elisa Rubini Some books arrive silently and then stay with you, like a voice you can’t stop hearing. Tales of Life and Surroundings is like that. A collection of twenty short stories that don’t claim to change the world, but that touch you inside, leaving…
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Review by Elisa Rubini Some books surprise you because they speak to you, even when they recount lives you’ve never known. Missing Puzzles: Understanding Who We Are Through the Lives of Our Ancestors by Maria Teresa De Donato is one of them. It’s not just an autobiographical novel; it’s an emotional and cultural journey into the roots…
Review by Maria Teresa De Donato Violent, ruthless, at times obscene, and even traumatizing, this Memoir by Nicolai Lilin is undoubtedly not for everyone. Yet, despite the crudeness of the stories, the narrative is fluent, pleasant, profound, full of meaning and life lessons, and, paradoxically, in some respects, equally fascinating. Those who maintain a dualistic…
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Review by Giuseppe Storti The Romans had the cult of ancestors The “mos maiorum”, literally: the ancestors’ customs, is the founding core of Roman civilization. The Romans jealously guarded the Lares and Penates in their homes. In every Roman domus, there were statuettes that symbolized the Lares who protected the family. While the Penates are…
by Fiori Picco Review by Maria Teresa De Donato With her new novel entitled Il tempo del riso glutinoso (= The Time of Glutinous Rice) (Picco, 2024, Fiori D’Asia Editrice), Fiori Picco, Author, Literary Translator, Editor, and Sinologist, conquers the hearts of all of us by transporting us once again to her beloved Yunnan and,…
by Hemalatha Gnanasekar Review by Maria Teresa De Donato We have already encountered Hemalatha Gnanasekar’s work through her publications Life Lessons from India—A Woman’s Memoir and The Guilt Is Alive, which both allowed us to appreciate her nurturing, empathic, and caring nature and feel her deep and boundless Love for her family. In Joys and Woes of Marriage in India,…
