4/18 I’d have something to tell about Barzini tonight, but I have to start by saying that I don’t even know who of the two guys down in the grocery store, both middle-aged, both behaving as if they were the owner, is the actual Barzini. And there’s no way for me to find out, because in the five years that I’ve lived here I have never been able to have any kind of conversation with them, no smile, not even eye contact. It is true that I don’t like conversations with anybody, and my demeanor must be radiating that very clearly. Yet in five years, there would normally have been moments when I’d let down my guard, especially with people who see no need to smile at me. But in their case, the two radiations just seem to amplify each other. Back home, I can indeed find out who the real Barzini is, because on their store’s instagram, among dozens of food pics, there’s also two of him, but not of the other guy.