Paperweight: the “Dictionary of Religions” and a book of micro-stories for moviegoers

“Dictionary of Religions”

Authors: Mircea Eliade and Ioan Couliano.

Pages : 454

Publisher: Paidos Orientalia

A book that manages to bring together Christ, Buddha and Mohammed, but also Odin and Thor with the god Viracocha, cannot but be fascinating. We owe the abysmal challenge of conceiving this dictionary of religions to the Romanian philosopher and historian Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), one of the greatest eminences on such a complex subject, who during the 70s and 80s began planning the work.

At his death in 1986, the “Dictionary of Religions” was not yet finished. But it was his compatriot, student and colleague Ioan Couliano who undertook the task of completing the work, strictly following his directives and structuring the book alphabetically (not chronologically). And always trying to balance the search for scientific rigor (which it has), with the aim that it also be a work “for the non-specialist reader”, as Eliade wanted from the beginning.

The result was published in 1981 and today it is republished in a neat installment that should be a bedside book for anyone even minimally interested in the subject. A reference text that helps us understand the complexity of universal beliefs, with objective information, but also with a structural analysis and even beautiful narratives about myths, dogmas and faith.

“Juanito Tragapelas”

Author: Pablo Ignacio Chacón.

Pages: 98.

Publisher: Independent.

The story that serves as the introduction to the volume is irreverently attractive in itself: “At the age of eight, Juanito began to suck on the negatives of family photos. At ten, he risked swallowing them. […] At sixteen, he robbed his first film club.” The story of this (literal) devourer of movies serves as a timely preamble for fifty micro-stories that have a love of cinema as their conceptual core.

The first group of short stories, for example, restricts its tones and themes to the main film genres (“A thriller”, “A horror”, “A superhero”), with the typical resources and formulas, but turning them around. interesting from the textual point of view.

Then other diverse stories appear, between synopses of imaginary films or simply stories somehow related to the big screen. The most notable are those that appeal to a scathing irony, such as “Author cinema”, “Precoz (coming-of-age film)” or “School melodrama”.

The closing comes with a set that pays casual tribute to famous filmmakers (“Tarantinesque Monologue”, “Kurosawada”, etc.) to round off a very enjoyable book and, moreover, completely self-managed by its author. A pleasant and refreshing surprise.