Xavier Perez-Pons

Let me introduce myself. I am the author of this somewhat strange book. But, above all, I hope to live up to what, to my amazement, once, in a museum, a child unknown to me told me. He said looking into my eyes: "You are good". Obviously, the image of this presentation is not my portrait. But I am attracted by the expression, the attitude, the way of being that I guess behind the half-closed eyelids of this man. He seems a good man. It will not hurt to add that this painting by Illex Beller is entitled "Itza the fool", and portrays the fool of the town of...? It does not matter: of one of those hundreds of villages in Eastern Europe and Russia that were mostly populated by poor Jews (in their Yiddish language those villages are called shtetls: apparently an unpronounceable word, but it sounds more or less like "shtatles"). In general, people tend to despise fools. I, conversely, admire them. Because, in their innocence, fools resemble children, who possess a sixth sense for the things of the Other World -that back room of the Universe. And, since at my age I can not afford to consider myself a child, I am excited to think that I can still count myself among the fools. In fact, I do a lot of nonsense! Take this book for example: the investment of so many years of my life researching in depth to write a extensive treatise on the ancient theory of twin souls without expecting anything in return (I destine my eventual benefits entirely for Unicef). Who would think! It is foolish, right? Thank you: you do me an honor.

Let me add that, since I was a child, I have a disease called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Although in my childhood and youth it made me suffer a lot, this illness, seen in perspective, has been a blessing for me: I think it has made me a better person. My obsessions are very varied. But the compulsion with which I deceive them has always been the same: reading. I am a compulsive reader. Reading, I get rid of my obsessions, I evade myself. Shortly after entering the University, I won a literary contest called by a television channel, and I began to earn a living as a scriptwriter. Since I was in love, the theme of soul mates emerged as a backdrop for a feature film project. I started reading about it. The subject gave much more of itself than I imagined. And so, I went deeper and deeper into the bookish world of ancient wisdom. Although the disciplines in which I was digging were very diverse, for more than ten years my compulsion of reading took a well defined course. Little by little, in the manner of a giant puzzle (of, say, a landscape) whose innumerable pieces slowly fit together, a certain landscape gradually took shape in my head. Well, this book is the detailed description of that landscape.