I do read the reviews I receive. The reason? I think it's mere curiosity.
Positive reviews are just fine.
I don't worry about the negative ones. I expect to receive negative reviews from members of the four categories of individuals I have mentioned in the preface of my books. If I had to write to please the reader, I wouldn't write. In fact, I do not allow compromises on the human condition.
“Start writing earlier than you have done. Don't be afraid of causing offense to the readers. Don't accept compromises. Remember: zero tolerance for those who cause suffering to others.â€
There are three reasons that pushed me to write. 1) The desire to denounce the suffering caused by Intellectual Suicide, a practice perpetrated by conspiratorial cowards to the detriment of the most naive and defenseless people; 2) The need to express my thoughts, that need that my paltry work left unexpressed; 3) The ambition to invite writers and readers to boycott that part of literature which is an end in itself - itself a cause of suffering and frustration.
Ideas – understood as concepts, reasoning – are the most important elements. Following is an excerpt from "Concerning Decay in The Human Race".
They heard Giorgio’s voice before spotting the hut in the woods. The old man was singing an aria from the Italian melodramatic repertoire of the late 19th century. It was ‘Vecchia zimarra’ from Puccini’s La Bohème.
When he noticed the young people approaching, he stopped singing. “So, it’s true. Morons really never stop reproducing.â€
Davide told him about his father’s responsibilities in Raffaele’s death.
“Your pathetic personal affairs are meaningless to me,†the old man asserted. “You’re just people; therefore, you count for nothing. You count according to your ideas, because only ideas are precious. Since you’re devoid of ideas, you count for nothing.â€
Davide raised his fist, threatening to strike him. “People matter more than ideas.â€
Giorgio didn’t flinch; his eyes were glazed over as he viewed Davide. “Another trivial statement. My life as a hermit is wonderful. I don’t need anything but ideas. Without ideas I’d go mad. Mind you, I’m saying ideas, not ideals. Let’s see which of you four morons can explain the difference between ideas and ideals.â€
“We have no time for useless sophistry,†Andre said.
“Let’s listen to Giorgio,†Davide intervened, knowing that the only way to get the old man’s attention was by waiting for his ego to be satiated.
“There’s that barefaced ignorance again,†Giorgio resumed. “Ideas and ideals are apparently similar. However, they have opposite meanings. The idea is what allows us to question; the ideal is what enslaves you. Having an ideal means believing blindly; it’s a form of fundamentalism. Therefore, I’ll recommend that you rack your brains to question the world – down to the smallest certainty – to forge your own ideas. Stay away from ideals.â€
Andre objected. “Ideas are born from people. They can’t exist without people. So, people are more important than ideas.â€
The old man rubbed his chin and nodded, pretending to be defeated by the boy’s counterargument. A butterfly flew in front of his nose. “Once butterflies emerge from their cocoons, transformed, they’ve freed themselves from a useless husk. The cocoon was useful for them at one point, but they’ve outgrown its necessity. Ideas transcend humans; once their pathetic, futile husks of bodies have decayed, their ideas remain, written down, told from person to person, or even recorded with a camera.â€
Everyone finds inspiration in their own way. There are no recipes that work well for everyone. As far as I'm concerned, I just observe the people around me and listen to their reasoning. And, anyway, I'm not a writer.
I don't have any particular feelings. Investigating the drama of the human condition is a duty. Determining the causes of human suffering is the only serious thing to do in life. Denouncing those responsible for the suffering of others is the only activity that gives meaning to the expression "moral duty".
