The Adventures of Pinocchio: Story of a Puppet/Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un Burattino (The Complete Text in a Bilingual Edition with the ... Illustrations) (English and Italian Edition) [Paperback]

Carlo Collodi (Carlo Lorenzini) (Author), Nicolas J. Perella (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Perella's new translation and introductory essay capture the wit, irony, ambiguity, and social satire of the original nineteenth-century text, finally reclaiming Pinocchio for adult readers. Perella's translation is the first time the whole story has appeared in English. This bilingual edition also includes over 130 drawings by the original illustrator, Enrico Mazzanti.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This bilingual, scholarly edition (from Pollidori's "clean text" of the fifth edition) gives new integrity to a classic now seen to straddle the border between adult and children's literature. In a lengthy introductory essay Perella exhaustively examines the background, technique, meaning, and literary status of the work: his remarks are erudite, sensible, and suggestive. The lively translation pays special attention to the characteristic ironies and aural qualities of Collodi's prose, and the extensive notes often clarify etymological or other linguistic matters. There is a preface discussing the choice of a base text and a brief commentary on the illustrations (chiefly Mazzanti's) reproduced from the first book edition. This careful, thoughtful editing puts to shame the recent James Teahan translation ( The Pinocchio of C. Collodi , LJ 6/15/85). Patricia Dooley, formerly with English Dept., Drexel Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Perella's opening Essay is no mere "introduction"; it is the fullest exposition of the novel ever to appear in English . . . enormously rewarding." -- Richard Wunderlich, The Pinocchio Catalogue

"The real Pinocchio offers pleasures never hinted at by Disney. . . . A masterful blend of realism and fantasy." -- William Grimes, Voice Literary Supplement

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 498 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (January 8, 1991)
• Language: English, Italian
• ISBN-10: 0520077822
• ISBN-13: 978-0520077829
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent format and translation, September 9, 2002

By 

Daniel J. Dupre (Jacksonville, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Adventures of Pinocchio: Story of a Puppet/Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un Burattino (The Complete Text in a Bilingual Edition with the ... Illustrations) (English and Italian Edition) (Paperback)

This edition stands perfectly well on its own in either language for simple enjoyment of the story and prose. It is also a useful learning resource for the intermediate to advanced student of the language. I suggest that you listen to Il Narratore audiolibro tape or CD while you read the text in Italian and then in English. The side by side page format is perfect for this technique. I am on my second iteration and I think I am actually learning. Do not let the 1883 date of original publication bother you. The language seems contemporary and the idioms are thoroughly footnoted. Be ready for a lot of passato remoto in the first and third person singular(this is after all a literary tense) and many very colorful verbs. Forget about Disney or any English language kids' editions. This is real literary fiction. The tranlator's opening essay provides social,linguistic and historical context if you're interested.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!, August 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Pinocchio: Story of a Puppet/Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un Burattino (The Complete Text in a Bilingual Edition with the ... Illustrations) (English and Italian Edition) (Paperback)

The translator, the editor, the designer, everyone involved in this project deserves the highest praise... oh, and the author, of course! Of particularly worthwhile note is Perella's lengthy introduction, an essay on the story in context of Italian culture, and also noteworthy & insightful are his endnotes on his translation. This is so much more than a childrens' story (and SO much more than Disney's version) -- it is a story for all ages, all levels of students of Italian language and culture (a great aid to improve reading skills, incidentally) and all those in love with things Italian. Thank you, Nicolas Perella, for your great effort in bringing this landmark story of Italy to the English reader, in clearest, most straightforward style -- if I could give you an award, I would.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Allegory for Children!, April 7, 2002

By 

"kaia_espina" (Quezon City, Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Pinocchio: Story of a Puppet/Le Avventure di Pinocchio: Storia di un Burattino (The Complete Text in a Bilingual Edition with the ... Illustrations) (English and Italian Edition) (Paperback)

Since another reviewer has already stated why this edition/transation is the best one to buy, my review will focus on the story, which is a charming allegory for children, no matter what language is used to tell it.

Children identify with Pinocchio because of all his troubles. They understand what it is like to want to and mean to do well, only to fail miserably. They are also very capable of matching his extremes of emotion. Childhood is so full of humiliations that they don't think, "Oh, what an idiot not to have gotten it by now" or "He's overreacting terribly." (In fact, these are things said about _them_.) Instead, they cheer Pinocchio, who commits blunder after blunder--and is rewarded at the end of the book, for finally getting it right.

Also endearing are the puppet's "parents," old woodcarver Geppetto and the "fairy with blue hair." Despite their scapegrace's repeated failures, they forgive him again and again, giving him countless chances to redeem himself. As for the villains who prey on Pinocchio's naivete, they are perfect representations of what children find threatening. Some characters resemble playground bullies; others are more like the monsters under the bed. The talking animals are a little exasperating, but very nice.

"The Adventures of Pinocchio" is as whimsy as Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland": in both novels, anything goes. Unlike Carroll, however, Collodi injected moral lessons into the storyline. Pinocchio does not get into one humiliating episode after another just to amuse young readers; with every mistake he makes, he learns a moral lesson.

The plot structure is "poor"--which works to the book's advantage. This is what-happens-next kind of reading. Children care foremost about what new agonies a protagonist can propel himself into, and so will like the pace.

Accept no abridgements or adaptations. There are wonderful details that are often cut out for economy--or rewritten for somebody's idea of style. For the real Pinocchio, read this book.