Lisa Kleypas

A volte succede che, a seguito di innumerevoli delusioni, della deplorevole scelta di copertine da parte di alcuni editori e dell'ineludibile abbassamento della qualità artistica dall'originale alla traduzione, si perdano delle perle.
A me succede abbastanza spesso con i romanzi storici.
Quelli che ho letto anni fa in italiano mi hanno abbastanza delusa, perciò difficilmente, anche in questi ultimi tempi, mi avvicinavo a certe autrici, benché pluripremiate e straosannate. Avevo ormai una certa nicchia di autrici che sapevo non mi avrebbero delusa, e raramente mi muovevo da essa.
Tuttavia, ultimamente, grazie a Katharine Ashe, mi era tornata voglia di leggere qualche historical romance, e mi sono detta...va bene, scegliamo la Kleypas, è così amata, anche se quel che ho letto in italiano non mi ha conquistata, probabilmente in inglese è meglio. Scegliamo il libro che ha il giudizio più alto su goodreads, Devil in winter, proprio brutto non sarà.
Un gioiello. La scrittura è raffinata, attenta, vivace, ha guizzi di umorismo, ironia e sarcasmo straordinari e dei dialoghi sapienti, personaggi interessanti, vivi, dettagliati, a tutto tondo, capaci di farti innamorare.
A Wallflower Christmas: una delle più belle lettere d'amore mai scritte.
Poi la serie Hathaways: ironica, divertente, coinvolgente, personaggi strani ma amabili, del tutto anticonvenzionale e con quei dialoghi freschi, intensi e scintillanti, e dei personaggi con uno stile arguto di battuta che Oscar Wilde avrebbe adorato.

In Italia non c'è bisogno di elogiarla, a differenza di altre autrici lei è già amatissima, ma non potevo non renderle omaggio ora che anche io l'ho scoperta!




Perciò....qualche frase dall'ultimo romanzo della serie Hathaway, Love in the afternoon.


“One could pick apart love, examine every filament of attraction, and still it would never be fully explained.
It simply was.” 

***

“My family has always believed that when we are faced with large and apparently impossible problems, the best solutions are found by the insane people, not the sensible ones.” 

***

“You are your own worst enemy. If you can learn to stop expecting impossible perfection, in yourself and others, you may find the happiness that has always eluded you.” 

***

“When Christopher finished, there was a moment of silence.
Leo looked at Cam expectantly. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Now is the time when you dredge up one of your blasted Romany sayings. Something about roosters laying eggs, or pigs dancing in the orchard. It’s what you always do. Let’s have it.”
Cam gave him a sardonic glance. “I can’t think of one right now.”
“By God, I’ve had to listen to hundreds of them. And Phelan doesn’t have to hear even one?” 

***

“I beg your pardon?” Catherine interrupted. “Are you implying that women have poor judgment?”
“In these matters, yes.” Leo gestured to Christopher. “Just look at the fellow, standing there like a bloody Greek god. Do you think she chose him because of his intellect?”
“I graduated from Cambridge,” Christopher said acidly. “Should I have brought my diploma?”
“In this family,” Cam interrupted, “there is no requirement of a university degree to prove one’s intelligence. Lord Ramsay is a perfect example of how one has nothing to do with the other.” 

***

“The trick was forgetting about what she had lost ...and learning to go on with what she had left.”

***

“He’s a man, dear,” Amelia explained kindly. “Sustained thinking is very difficult for them.” “As opposed to women,” Leo retorted, “who have the remarkable ability to make decisions without doing any thinking at all.”

***

“Beatrix puts a distance between herself and the rest of the world. She’s very engaging, but also quite private in nature. I see the same qualities in Captain Phelan.”
“Yes,” Amelia said. “You’re absolutely right, Catherine. Put that way, the match does seem more appropriate.”
“I still have reservations,” Leo said.
“You always do,” Amelia replied. “If you’ll recall, you objected to Cam in the beginning, but now you’ve accepted him.”
“That’s because the more brothers-in-law I acquire,” Leo said, “the better Cam looks by comparison.”

***

“Aristotle taught that stars are made of a different matter than the four earthly elements— a quintessence— that also happens to be what the human psyche is made of. Which is why man’s spirit corresponds to the stars. Perhaps that’s not a very scientific view, but I do like the idea that there’s a little starlight in each of us.”