Customer Reviews

The Adventures of Pinocchio (Le Avventure Di Pinocchio): The Complete Text in a Bilingual Edition with the Original Illustrations (Biblioteca Italiana)

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Who would want to read this book in its particular layout? Most likely students of the Italian language who are looking for a reader or hoping to familiarize themselves more with Italian culture. For that purpose it is very suitable, though I have to disagree that the translation into the English language is "unlikely to be surpassed." The translation is a bit literal at times and stilted in my opinion and can be improved upon in many ways. Also the introductory essay which is around 69 pages long is about 60 some pages too long and boarders on the ridiculous. If you don't want to ruin your own experience reading this story, skip it, or at least be warned that you will be reading of phallic interpretations of P's nose and lots of useless meanderings. The intro offers some valid historical points of interest but for the most part it is overkill. It probably would have been more helpful to include the historical and cultural insights in the endnotes, which do offer some explanations for some of the translation and meanings of words, but could be more fully extended and the intro less so. In this way, one's adventure in reading this story is not tainted by the intro, and ones understanding in areas of confusion could be aided on an as need basis, without ruining the whole experience of reading this wonderful story that does indeed seem to capture the essence of the Italian experience.

This is a wonderful edition of the everlasting story of Pinocchio. The book is a pleasant print on nice paper. It has the Italian text in front and the drawings of the original version of the story, that was published in short episodes in an Italian magazine.
The story has values for both, the multiple levels that you can read about Pinocchio's adventures (for example the symbolism, as you can find in other stories such as "Alice's adventures in wonderland") and the language and social meaning. Collodi originally did not intend to have the book published for children, it contains topics that reflect the man understanding of its human nature and of civilized life. For all these reasons Pincchio was adapted from Collodi, and later on many versions were made for children entertainment. Although this edition would probably appeal more a 12 years old than a younger infant, it remains a classic in literature history.

this is the original story of Pinocchio and it is wonderful. Unlike the Disney version, this book takes you through all the adventures of Pinocchio. It is truely a great book, and everyone should have a copy.

I found this book to be fantastic. I heard it originally back in fifth grade when our teacher read our class this classic. How surprised I was to see how totally different the Disney's version was to the original story. It is truly sad to see a classic like this "kidified" into the cute little story made by Disney. But look at the Little Mermaid...the same thing happened to that story. This book is a classic, and it is great to see there are those dedicated to preserving it as such. This story should remain untouched. I highly recommend it to all readers, especially adults, for as the author says, it is more of a book for them than children. This version has it both in the English and Italian text with an excellent essay on the history of the story as well. Truly an education as well as a good story. Enjoy.

This original bilingual edition of Collodi's Pinocchio is great adult reading. It is loaded with lots of whit and colorful language. The english translation matches the Italian very well, making it easier to understand the Italian.

Certain old stories adapted into movies MUST be read, because the original story is just so good. Shelly's Frankenstein, Stoker's Dracula, Stevenson's Treasure Island, and Bronte's Jane Eyre all fall into this category of stories. Sorry to say, but Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio doesn't, by a long shot. This story is, in fact, quite ridiculous. I so much wanted to like this story. After all, it is about Pinocchio! The beloved marionette! But geez, it was torturous reading. I stuck it through only to see if the impression I was amassing as I continued reading held through to the very end. And it did. From a story telling sense, it seems as if every mistake an author can make was made by Collodi - what coincidences! what inconsistencies! what predictable outcomes! Disney must have saved this story from the death of time, for I see no reason why this story should be read at all.

This is not a childrens's version at all. For adults who want English on one side of the page and Italian on the other, this is the book for you.
I had purchased it for a child and now will have to find another edition.