The Adventures Of Pinocchio

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. Review Quotes: "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 Review Quotes: "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 First published 1883; this translation 2009.

Author description

Carlo Collodi (1826-1890) is the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini. He worked as a journalist before publishing The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883. Translated into more than ninety languages, Pinocchio has never been out of print. Umberto Eco is an Italian philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) and his many essays. Geoffrey Brock is a poet and the translator of many books, including Disaffections by Cesare Pavese and The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco. He teaches in the University of Arkansas Programs in Creative Writing and Translation in Fayetteville.