Saints Stranded!

Stranded on an island and forced to pick three songs, a book, and a luxury item: what would you choose?

I’ll be honest, in this deadline-filled period I would jump at the opportunity to spend some time on a solitary island, sunbathing and enjoying some of my favourite songs and books.

My first song choice will make some noses wrinkle, I know, but Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ is unironically my favourite song. Yes, it’s basic, and yes it has been played at every bonfire since 7th grade. But guess what? Nothing says I love you better than “And after all / You’re my Wonderwall”. At least, being on a desert island, I can’t risk being ‘Kenned’ by some random dude with a guitar. Right?

The second song cannot be anything else than ‘Carry on’ by Fun. This catchy, feel-good song was my sleep alarm when I was fifteen (bad idea), the caption of many cringe Instagram posts (fifteen was a dark age), and the title of one of my short stories (I repeat, being fifteen is hard).

My third and final song goes to Goldfinger’s ‘Don’t Let Me Go’. The beautiful lyrics deal with themes such as relationships and mental health, and the punk-rock sound will help me to look more alternative and mysterious.

Moving on: picking my favourite book is an extremely hard task, but as a Classics and Comp Lit student, nothing could fit better than a German novel about the Trojan War. Cassandra by Christa Wolf is a brilliantly written story about the horrors of war and the importance of resistance. In these difficult times, in which violence seems to dominate the world, I often seek answers in it.

Finally, as an Italian, I am ready to embody every stereotype and choose the biggest, fanciest Nespresso Machine as my luxury item. I do not care if it is 40°C degrees on the beach, I still need my minimum 3 coffees per day. But hey, it’s not an addiction; I can stop whenever I want, I swear.

Illustration by Ruby Pitman