The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

Title: The Adventures of Pinocchio

Author: Carlo Collodi Publisher: Giunti Editore Website: Giunti Editore ISBN-10: 8809018168

ISBN-13: 978-8809018167 Genre: Children's fiction Print Length: 256 pages

Synopsis: This edition has been reproduced from the 1901 version with the late Victorian pen and Ink Illustrations of Carlo Chiostri. Everything is there as before, the familiar profile of Pinocchio, his paper clothes, his bread hat and his friends - good and bad - Gepetto, Master Cherry, the Cat and the Fox, the Carabineers, the Green Fisherman, Fire Eater, the Blue Fairy and many others.

This surreal novel is nothing like the Disney cartoon that it inspired. It is dark and sinister and full of contradictory emotions, especially from Pinocchio. This is only to be expected as it was written at a time when story writing was very different from that of today and in a time that was very different – soon after the unification of Italy. Each chapter was written for separate publication in a weekly children’s paper and each had a moral to the tale, aimed particularly at boys. That it was written for serialisation is evident from the rather disjointed narrative. The translation is clunky and the wrong word is used on a few occasions. As a consequence, the characterisation is poor and the dialogue awkward. It could do with a serious rewriting to bring it up to date. Having said all that I thoroughly enjoyed it; indeed this is the second time I have read this translation of the story. The moral tales are simple yet compelling and the villains are fun and Pinocchio delightfully gullible. If you want a break from reading long, turgid historical or fantasy novels, something that is easy and quick to read and does not require too much brain power to follow this might be the next novel for you!

What others thought at the time of writing

Amazon.co.uk; 39 reviews, of which 92% were 3* or more, giving an average of 4.2* Amazon.com; 303 reviews, of which 92% were 3* or more, giving an average of 4.4* Goodreads.com; 59,997 ratings (1,529 reviews), with 91% of 3* or more, giving an average of 3.9*

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