Pinocchio (New York Review Books Classics) (Paperback)

~ Carlo Collodi (Author), (Translator), Umberto Eco (Introduction), Rebecca West (Afterword)
Key Phrases: talking cricket, poor puppet, vetch peas, Corn Head, Sky-Blue Hair, Master Antonio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Disney's sentimental depiction of Pinocchio bears little resemblance to Collodi's unscrupulous puppet. This new translation revives the sardonic wit and black humour of the original." --London Times

"Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio...is short on Disneyesque sentimentality (there is a talking cricket, but Pinocchio squashes him), long on satire and farce. Geoffrey Brock's superbly crafted translation and Umberto Eco's introduction bring to life this tale of gumption and greed." --O Magazine

"Geoffrey Brock's new English translation of the subversive parable revives Carlo Collodi's sardonic wit and pitch-black humor, while bringing to life the poverty, moral vacuity, and uncensored violence of late-19th-century Europe...Brock — known for his award-winning translations of authors such as Umberto Eco and Cesare Pavese — strips away the sentimental veneer to reveal the original haunting fairy tale. Readers will be familiar with many of the characters, as well as the story's major plot points, but this version thankfully bears little resemblance to most modern interpretations. Pinocchio may have cast off his own strings, but Brock beautifully restores the historical knot." --BoldType

Product Description

Though one of the best-known books in the world, Pinocchio at the same time remains unknown—linked in many minds to the Walt Disney movie that bears little relation to Carlo Collodi’s splendid original. That story is of course about a puppet who, after many trials, succeeds in becoming a “real boy.” Yet it is hardly a sentimental or morally improving tale. To the contrary, Pinocchio is one of the great subversives of the written page, a madcap genius hurtled along at the pleasure and mercy of his desires, a renegade who in many ways resembles his near contemporary Huck Finn.

Pinocchio the novel, no less than Pinocchio the character, is one of the great inventions of modern literature. A sublime anomaly, the book merges the traditions of the picaresque, of street theater, and of folk and fairy tales into a work that is at once adventure, satire, and a powerful enchantment that anticipates surrealism and magical realism. Thronged with memorable characters and composed with the fluid but inevitable logic of a dream, Pinocchio is an endlessly fascinating work that is essential equipment for life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: NYRB Classics (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590172892
• ISBN-13: 978-1590172896
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #235,865 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine New American Translation of Collodi Classic, September 13, 2009

By	Nicholas A. Deutsch (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'll leave it to others to assess the accuracy of Geoffrey Brock's new English translation of THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO. What I can say is that it reads really well for a North American reader, pungent and precise and funny. What an astonishing book! If you've never read it, or if you've only read it in "adapted" versions, here's a good opportunity to enjoy a faithful rendition. Note, however, that apart from a few decorations reproduced from a 1911 edition, this is NOT an illustrated version of the novel.
This edition comes with a brief, charming introduction by Umberto Eco, and a longer afterword by Rebecca West - full of interesting information and insights, but perhaps too ambitious: it reads more like an outline for a book than a self-sufficient essay. An excellent complement (and corrective) to West is Tim Parks's review of this edition in the New York Review of Books (30 April 2009 - there's a link from the Wikipedia entry on Carlo Collodi). Parks lays out the political, social, religious and personal background to Collodi's book clearly and entertainingly, and his article really increased my understanding and enjoyment.
Finally, consider checking out the recently issued DVD of English composer Jonathan Dove's full-length opera, THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO, a fantastically colorful and remarkably faithful adaptation of this classic novel.

4 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Disney, May 10, 2009

By	Frank A. Stephenson "FASPhoenix" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is not the Pinocchio of Walt Disney (the talking cricket gets whacked on page 15 with a hammer), rather this is the Pinocchio Disney used to create his version. Knowing that will make you appreciate Walt even more.

I'm not saying this is a bad read; on the contrary, I enjoyed this book, even though I caught myself comparing the storyline with the Disney movie way too often. There are many characters, and somehow Carlo Collodi has managed to make all of them not only essential, but interesting. The book is a magical tale about life; it's about adventure, comedy, dissapointment, shear joy, and imagination.