Product Description

This is an all new version of the popular PARALLEL TEXT series, containing eight pieces of contemporary fiction in the original Italian and in English translation. Including stories by Calvino, Benni, Sciascia and Levi, this volume gives a fascinating insight into Italian culture and literature as well as providing an invaluable educational tool.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12192 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-30
• Original language: Italian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Nick Roberts is a teacher of Italian at Eton College.

Customer Reviews

Useful, if lacking in taste...
This is a useful little book, well aimed at school-level students of written Italian. The stories are by well known names, some very famous (e.g. Primo Levi). As works of literature, they are not all particularly inspiring. However, if you have the stomach to read about the somewhat disgusting sex-lives of unclean peasants (as occurs in one story), then it is fine.

A strong point is the notes about idiomatic usages, some of which are very useful, and indeed illuminating about life in modern Italy. I can confirm the accuracy of these notes.

Recommendable, on the whole. Indeed, I hope that the author will continue, and give us further volumes.

Try it
When I opened the book at first I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew. I have been studying Italian for a few terms at evening class and regularly travel to Italy on business, but when I looked at the first story I couldn't understand a word. Then I flicked through the book and found a story that I could just about understand the first sentence of, and persevered with it. Gradually I have been able to understand every word and improve my vocabulary and grammar. The English translation is first class. It is not word for word - it translates Italian sayings and phrases into English equivalents. This will be a great help in improving my understanding of Italian, but it will require time and study.

Libro Recensione (Riassunto)
I read the English translations (I've just started learning Italian). The stories in the book are:

Il Lungo Viaggio/The Long Crossing (Leonardo Sciascia) 7/10
Italia/Italy (Goffredo Parise) 10
La Ragazza Con La Treccia/The Girl With The Plait (Dacia Maraini) 7
L'ultimo Canale/The Last Channel (Italo Calvino) 8
Lilít/Lilith (Primo Levi) 7
L'isola Di Komodo/The Island Of Komodo (Susanna Tamaro) 0
Donne In Piscina/Women By The Pool (Sandra Petrignani) 0
Un Cattivo Scolaro/A Naughty Schoolboy (Stefano Benni) 5
I Pomeriggi Del Sabato/Saturday Afternoons (Antonio Tabucchi) 8

Italia is an astonishingly beautiful story, L'ultimo Canale has lots of good ideas and Lilít is very funny.