BOOK REVIEW: The Curse of Knowing

BOOK REVIEW: The Curse of Knowing

Part Gothic romance, part psychological thriller, The Curse of Knowing is a remarkable entry into fiction writing by former Italian advertising executive Aldo Cernuto. With his first novel, Cernuto, who honed his storytelling skills as creative director with some of the world’s top agencies including Young & Rubican, surprises not only by creating and giving voice to a wholly believable female protagonist, but by doing so in his second language.
Cernuto gives the reader a front row seat into the life, past and present, of Vittoria Armieri, a cleaning woman working in anonymity at the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage in present-day Rome. The pacing is quick and Cernuto avoids leading the reader down any rabbit holes; effectively blending the surreal with the realities of every day life into an effective montage that keeps the pages turning.
As Cernuto and Vittoria draw us into a life that, at first blush, seems extraordinary, we are exposed to elements of it that, over time, challenge our perspective and assumptions and cause us to reflect on our own lives, leading to an unexpected conclusion in which we are encourage to partake.
HOSPITAL PHOTO-OP REMINDER OF TRUMP’S LACK OF HUMANITY

HOSPITAL PHOTO-OP REMINDER OF TRUMP’S LACK OF HUMANITY

There’s tone deaf, there’s Marie Antoinette tone deaf, and then there’s Donald Trump.

If anyone needed reminding that the president of the United States is incapable of empathy and compassion, his Sunday afternoon MAGA drive-by photo-op should do the trick.

In a move reminiscent of his controversial photo-op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church last June, the U.S president briefly left his hospital room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center   today, and rode a motorcade to greet cheering supporters that lined the street outside the hospital.

While the president’s stunt no doubt delighted MAGA nation, it quickly sparked outrage for its disregard for the health of the Secret Service agents riding in the presidential SUV.

 

But perhaps more telling than his callous disregard for the health and safety of his Secret Service detail — after all he’s been holding mass rallies with no physical distancing and little mask wearing  —  was a comment made in the video (see below) Tweeted to cue up his “walkabout”.

“It’s been a very interesting journey. I learned a lot about COVID… This is the real school. This isn’t the, ‘Let’s read the book school’. And I get it…And it’s a very interesting thing, and I’m going to be letting you know about it”.

To hear Donald Trump talk about the disease like something he just discovered when it has infected more than seven million Americans and claimed the lives of more than 210,000 along the way, should remind everyone that the president of the United States is simply not wired to feel or understand something –no matter how egregious — unless it touches him personally.

The president’s feeble attempt at putting his sputtering campaign back on the tracks served only to showcase his utter lack of basic humanity, decency and concern for the wellbeing of anyone not named Trump.

Having endured a presidency characterized by lies, coverups and obfuscation,  and with 30 days to go before the election Americans should take this latest reality TV episode for what it is: an unvarnished glimpse into the gaping void that is the president’s soul.