The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories

This collection of great Italian authors is a feast of Italian literature served elegantly by a master of literature, Jhumpa Lahiri. I am still savoring every morsel.

The book arrived quickly, but I was disappointed to find that the dust cover wasn’t clean and the book was a remainder book so had black marker on the bottom of the pages. Looks good inside and generally in good shape, and not worth exchanging since who knows what other copies looks like, but I wouldn’t have purchased had i seen it in person first.

I should have checked, I assumed Italian stories would include the Italian text. Like the edition of Lahiri's In Other Words which I'd ordered recently. My mistake.

I returned the original purchase because it was in English; I wanted a copy of it, instead, in the Italian language.I asked if you had one, because the add mentioned ' an italian edition'! Please advise. Thank you.

The dust jacket was dirty and had to be thrown away.Disappointing, otherwise book was in good condition.

Mi è piaciuta la scelta degli scrittori italiani da includere nell'antologia. Purtroppo la copertina rigida rende scomoda la lettura. Un tempo i libri Penguin erano molto più maneggevoli.

Jhumpa Lahiri et les excellents collaborateurs dont elle a su s' entourer ont fait un merveilleux travail . les choix de l 'auteur qui est à l' intersection de trois cultures sont extrêmement intéressant et apportent un éclairage nouveau sur la vie ( en général ) italienne même si on a beaucoup séjourne la bas et qu' on essaye d' apprendre la langue italienne . On a l' impression que les traductions sont excellentes mais on n' est pas assez verse en italien pour se confronter aux originaux . Les textes en anglais sont fluides et riches en jolis mots très loin des trados google que nous infligent quelques éditeurs français .Les notices biographiques sont très précieuses et relient parfaitement l' auteur au texte choisi . Un seul bémol l' incontournable Pirandello tant apprécie par le passe par les néo intellectuels gauchistes malgré ou parce que un très vilain passé fasciste . Son style de poisson mort est diamétralement opposé à la chaleur congéniale des autres racconti même si ils sont parfois tragiques . Au total un livre a lire absolument .

What a lovely collection of translated Italian short stories. Thorough enjoyed the book . Penguin collection are usually so good. This keeps up the tradition. Jhumpa has done a remarkable job with the selection in this volume.

Being an Italian living in the UK, I was sceptical about reading Italian short stories translated into English. As a rule, I tend to read Italian books in Italian and English books in English. But then I realised that it would be difficult to find such a wide collection of some of the greatest Italian writers put together in a single anthology. Some of these writers are well known to Italians as they often form part of school curriculums, others are not so familiar not only to me but to many Italian readers. So I bought this book! As soon as I plunged into the first pages, I was carried away and completely forgot that I was reading a translation and found myself captivated by the stories themselves. I would recommend this book to both Italian and English readers, who are interested in a cross-section of modern Italian literature.

Riveting. Some gorgeous writing. A perfect bedside book.