100

Name: 100
ISBN: 9787532775972

乔治·曼加内利 / 魏怡 / 菲娜Shanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaNov 2018

3.5

Word count: 83K words
Chapters: 102
ISBN: 9787532775972

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Summary

100: A Hundred Very Short Stories is a 1979 work by the Italian writer Giorgio Manganelli, winner of the Viareggio Prize, one of Italy's most important literary awards. The collection comprises one hundred very short stories, each only a few hundred characters long, yet every sentence is distinctive, teeming with games of language and thought, depicting scenes like a witches' sabbath and constructing one surreal, absurd world after another. Italo Calvino once remarked of Giorgio Manganelli: "In Italian literature there is an incomparable writer, every word of his is unmistakable, he has invented endless, irresistible games of language and thought..." Such is this Decameron-like collection of stories. To what genre do they belong? Miniature psychological dramas, prose poems, absurd tales, sudden epiphanies, malicious sophistry, satirical fables, visions of delusion, existential oxymorons, or wondrous, appalling paradoxes? These one hundred very short stories are provocative from beginning to end—arrogant, sinister, and at times very funny. In them are ordinary couples, martyrs, killers, thieves, madmen, emperors, bandits, sleepers, architects, hunters, prisoners, writers, fantasies, ghosts, time and space, dragons, doubles, knights, fairies, angels, animal incarnations, and visions that appear only in dreams. Each piece has the structure of a Möbius strip, as one critic noted, "time joins head to tail, looping endlessly," like an ouroboros.

Editor's review

Giorgio Manganelli's 100 is a work of singular strangeness and challenge in literary history. Strictly speaking, it is not a "novel" in the traditional sense but a collection of one hundred extremely condensed, stylistically varied "micro-stories" or "fragments of thought." Each story (if it can still be called a story) is held precisely within a few lines to a page, like one hundred thought experiments in a literary laboratory, using extreme verbal density to explore such philosophical motifs as existence, time, death, nothingness, and the possibilities and limits of language. Manganelli was deeply influenced by the Italian avant-garde group Gruppo 63, and his writing is intensely experimental and deconstructive; in this book he thoroughly breaks every rule of traditional narrative—plot, character, and coherence are deliberately dissolved, replaced by leaps of imagery, ruptures of logic, and reflexive thinking about language itself. Reading 100 is not light entertainment but an intellectual exploration requiring intense concentration and mental participation. Its value lies in its pure literary form and intellectual sharpness; each short piece is like a prism refracting some strange facet of the world and of consciousness. For readers willing to take up the challenge, this book offers not stories but countless entry points for infinite reflection and interpretation—a kind of extreme form that literature can reach in self-reference and philosophical speculation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Veteran literary enthusiasts with a strong interest in experimental literature, avant-garde writing, and innovation in textual form
Readers who enjoy philosophical speculation and the excavation of deep meaning in fragmented texts
Writing enthusiasts and creators who may treat it as a model for studying minimalist narrative and linguistic elasticity
Readers with some grounding in modernist literature who are not daunted by abstract, non-plot-driven expression

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete, coherent story with beginning, development, climax, and resolution
Readers new to modern or postmodern literature who prefer traditional narrative styles

Reading tips

Do not try to finish it in one sitting or look for connections between stories; read only a few pieces at a time and leave ample space for afterthought and reflection.
Keep a notebook handy to record associations, questions, or insights that flash up during reading—this is itself a process of dialogue with the text.
Try letting go of the compulsion to "understand" and approach the text more through intuition and feeling, attending to the rhythm of the language itself, the impact of imagery, and the flow of emotion.

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

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FAQ

Does this book really contain one hundred stories? Are they connected?

Yes, the book does contain one hundred independent short pieces. But they have no direct links of plot or character; they are more like one hundred separate "units of thought" or "writing exercises" that together construct a constellation about writing, existence, and thinking.

Is this book very difficult? What preparation does it require?

It is indeed challenging. It offers no traditional storylines. No special expertise is required, but an open mind and some experience reading modern poetry or philosophical essays will help. Treat it as a series of riddles or aphorisms that need repeated pondering.

What is the author Giorgio Manganelli's place in literary history?

Giorgio Manganelli is an important representative of postwar Italian avant-garde literature and a core member of the literary group Gruppo 63. He is known for extreme formal experimentation and profound philosophical thinking; 100 is his most representative work and is regarded as one of the milestones of Italian experimental literature, influencing many later writers and thinkers.

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About the author

乔治·曼加内利 Author

George Manganelli is a foreign-literature author about whom relatively little public information is available. The only confirmed detail is the Chinese rendering of the name George Manganelli; his original English name, nationality, and dates of birth and death still require further verification. The library holds one work by him, the representative title 100, classified under foreign literature. Judging from the available materials, this work comes closer to experimental writing named after a number, and both its subject matter and form show a distinctly personal character. Its narrative often does not rely on traditional plot development, but instead emphasizes the rhythm and structure of language itself, placing certain demands on the reader. Because relevant reviews and research materials are scarce, it is difficult at present to sketch the full picture of his writing. What can be confirmed, however, is that he is not an author who relies on quantity; rather, he has entered the view of Chinese readers through a distinctive textual form, and his style of writing deserves further attention.

魏怡 Author

Wei Yi is an author whose publicly available information in Chinese book records remains limited; seven works by this author are currently confirmed. Representative titles include Becoming a Star: An Astronaut Trainee's Diary, Skin, Black and Silver, Specimen Issue, We in the Age of COVID, Tasmania, and 100. These works span foreign literature, social fiction, and essays and miscellaneous writings, showing considerable range: some unfold in the form of an astronaut trainee's diary, We in the Age of COVID engages closely with real social issues, and books such as Skin, Black and Silver, and Tasmania carry a literary atmosphere shaped by imagination. Because nationality, dates of birth and death, education, and personal experience cannot be verified, this profile makes no conjecture about the author's life and instead presents the writing as it appears in the works held: an attention to individual experience and social reality, a touch that moves between documentary and fiction, and, despite a modest number of titles, a clear interest in writing across different subjects.

菲娜 Author

Fina is an author included in the Chinese bibliographic records, but public information about her is limited: her English name, nationality, and dates of birth and death are not clearly documented. Only one work by her is held in the database, titled 100, and it is commonly classified under foreign literature. Because biographical information is lacking, it is not possible to confirm her educational background, writing career, or chronological list of works, nor should excessive claims be made about her literary standing. Judging only from the existing entry, the work titled 100 falls under foreign literature, which suggests it may have been written in a language other than Chinese or reached Chinese readers through translation, though the exact background and source language remain to be verified. For readers, Fina is best regarded as an author awaiting further documentation; any understanding of her themes and style should rest on a close reading of 100 and be checked against reliable publishing information rather than inferred from limited records.