Toccami: Viaggio in cerca della realtà

by Francesca Ramsay, Paola De Angelis (translator)

“La realtà dovrebbe essere semplice come tornare a casa...” Comincia da questo assunto la personale e affascinante esplorazione che Francesca Ramsay, giovane storica dell’arte inglese, mette in scena in Toccami. “Sono convinta”, scrive l’autrice di questo libro sorprendente a metà tra saggistica e narrazione, “che stiamo attraversando una crisi della realtà”. Costretti costantemente a esistere “a un grado di separazione da noi stessi”, ce ne rendiamo conto del tutto solo le rare volte in cui la sperimentiamo davvero, quei momenti brevi e luminosi in cui il nostro essere – chi siamo realmente al di là del nostro lavoro, degli impegni quotidiani e delle tante maschere che indossiamo – e il mondo intorno a noi vibrano insieme sulla stessa nota. All’improvviso tutto riluce di un nitore nuovo e ci sentiamo finalmente “reali”. E dunque dove si nasconde, il resto del tempo, la realtà, dove va a finire? E perché è così difficile ritrovarla? Attraverso avventure e disavventure di un vero e proprio pellegrinaggio, tanto spirituale quanto fisico, alla ricerca del proprio sé più vero, Toccami è una “chiamata alle armi, un invito a vivere la vita finché non l’avremo consumata e stropicciata, a viverla con un senso della realtà pieno e profondo”.

Genres: Nonfiction

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 20, 2024

Reviews

[Claire Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pinch Me by Francesca Ramsay. This is non fiction about trying to feel real in the 21st Century. Despite not really being a person who feels disassociated from life I found it so interesting that the author and clearly lots of other (possibly younger than me) people are. I was fascinated about the possible reasons, and really enjoyed (commiserated and laughed) at Francesca's struggles to find reality. And goodness, she can write, especially about nature. She tries out things like being in nature, contemplating the sky, being in water, and looking at art to see if she can make herself feel more present. I enjoyed how honest, frank, funny, and often brilliantly dour this book is. Highly recommended. Thanks to the author for a proof. And full disclosure she's a friend of my son's, but honestly, if you like self discovery kind of non-fiction then go and pre-order this. Published in October by Ortac Press.

[Mark Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another example of books being all about timing. It seems I found this one at the perfect time as it resonated massively.

Pinch Me is about dissociation. By definition literally, a state of being disconnected. In Ramsay's case she's referring to reality. A complete feeling of mind and body apart, and of existing somewhere on the edge of life.

It can be attributed to a number of things such as globalisation, technology, social media, and poor mental health.

Ramsay explains her journey in achieving a sense of reality via numerous methods with varying degrees of success (fractals, plants, sky, water, rivers, meditation, photography)

But one thing that never fails is art. Works of art so powerful they become more real than reality itself. Calm-inducing, pure serenity. Art from centuries ago forming deeper connections than anything on Facebook today, and emotional enlightenment physically transforming one to the present moment.

A refreshing and insightful look into finding contentment in a chaotic world. Highly recommend. Thanks again to Ortac books for the copy.

[Roos · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I'm having to write another disappointed review! A good question would also be why I can only seem to write reviews when I'm disappointed, but I'll save that for personal contemplation.

Ah, personal contemplation! Something the contents of this book should have been, instead of... published and paid for by me and many others.

This book was an impulse purchase, made when Loes started it on one of our annual reading retreats and was immediately into it, reading me some funny fragment about every millenial walking around with the same labradoodle and angry toddler in beige.

On reading the introduction, I was still charmed and intrigued. Ramsay discusses the contrast between the rare moments of feeling exhilaratingly alive and .. the rest of her life. So far, so good. I'm very interested in how the pace, tech-heaviness and precarious feeling of life today is making us all feel removed from the physical world around us. I can also quite appreciate a bit of quasi-philosophical navel-gazing.

Quite soon after the intro, though, a slight buzz of annoyance started. Why, I started thinking - for possibly the first time - does everyone in my generation think that they are interesting? Let me note here that I LOVE reading about individual (real) people's thoughts, feelings, and problems. Memoirs, no matter the central theme, make up a large part of my yearly reading. I often am interested in the concerns of people like myself but I guess this book (and the fact that it got published) just shouted PRIVILEGE too loudly for me to hear anything over the noise.

I did get myself through two-thirds because of the beautiful (if pretentious) writing and the fascinating sidenotes from the (obviously) copious research.

Sadly, Ramsey's references to anything and everything became ever more abundant and incoherent as the book progressed. The jumble of her uninterpreted thoughts was all body mass, no skeleton, when proper, careful consideration of some of her ideas could have made for a strong and interesting little(!) book, I think. As it stood, the only things that held her associations together (or rather, didn't..) were a chapter theme ('sky', for instance) and its relation to the writer's general unhappiness.

If only Ramsay had used this finished text as a first draft, to compose a great book FROM.. one that respected the reader's time and the writer's responsibility to actually offer ideas at least slightly digested or curated.. I think that version might have had quite some potential.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book at the perfect time. I was starstruck at how close i felt to what the author was writing.

[Ellen Torfs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francesca’s writing is utterly beautiful. She somehow manages to take you with her and immerse you in what are deeply personal and often quite unique experiences. Even if you have never taken mushrooms, been in a sensory deprivation tank or fled to a tiny village in Wales, it’s her private thoughts that make all of these things relatable. The honest way in which Francesca writes about these thoughts and the mind-body connection, stirred many subconscious memories in me, like muscles I hadn’t used in a long time or a scent I thought I had forgotten. The book feels like a long chat with an older sister, who is undeniably fascinating, compassionate, and optimistic despite it all. I hope many more people read this lovely work, and I know I will return to it many more times.

[nelly :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ad pr - publishers sent me a copy]

[Liz Lefroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on train journeys to and from London (total - around 7 hours) recently, and the time just zipped by. It's a serious book, but it also has the easy, conversational style of a magazine - I was drawn in, and wanted to know what happens. And what does happen is that Ramsay lets us accompany her on her journeys to find moments of the present - of being present. (It's so much more interesting than all those mindfulness books, and no focusing hard on chewing raisins is required.)

The book is clearly structured, and my inner essayist was very gratified by this - the pattern of starting each chapter with a work of visual art gives the whole coherence.

What I enjoyed and admired most about 'Pinch Me', however, was the insight it gave me into being younger than I am. It is a privilege to know about someone else's life, and I smiled, even giggled, and thought 'I've felt that' at Ramsay's generous and honest reflections.

This is a tender, vulnerable, intelligent, and ultimately hopeful, book.

[Jonty Watt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was variable, but on the whole okay. Some great moments that will stick with me, especially Ramsay's reflections on our difficult relationship with the natural world. But the book felt stuck between art criticism, self-help, science explainer, and memoirs in a way that prevented it from ever finding it's feet, for me. The framing device - wherein individual works of art would be the gateway to discussions of self and reality - was interesting, but not fully explored. The first few chapters stuck with the theme, and then it sort of diverged, and the art felt like an afterthought. I can't help but think that it would have been more interesting had there been more focused analysis of art and exploration of Ramsay's personal relationship with the works she chose - because she's right: art is an incredibly potent way to feel real!!

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just utter nonsense, complete waste of time and money

[Mees The · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend. Ramsay's writing style is exceptional in the sense that she comfortably draws you in, suggesting otherwise vague feelings in very particular and eerily specific ways. Being taken along for the ride (most often attentive wanderings through nature and culture), she is able to jump between light and heavy topics with ease and affirmation, and without being (too) conclusive. While it concerns a personal journey, readers are invited to join and get their own space to think. This book is an utter delight: I will re-read this again and again.