Chatter and Sketches

Vassallo, Luigi Arnaldo, 1852-1906Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.7

Word count: 279K words
Chapters: 28

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Ciarle e macchiette by Luigi Arnaldo VassalloAuthor: Vassallo, Luigi Arnaldo, 1852-1906,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Aug 12, 2011

Editor's review

Ciarle e macchiette is a work by the Italian writer Luigi Arnaldo Vassallo (1852–1906), released as an e-book by Project Gutenberg. Vassallo was active in late nineteenth-century Italian literary and journalistic circles, and his writing often has an essayistic and satirical tone, which this book reflects: it captures characters and social scenes with light narration, in short pieces and lively language. For readers learning Italian and hoping to encounter nineteenth-century Italian popular prose, it is a very low-cost original reader; for those studying journalism and urban-life writing in Italy of that period, it can also serve as a small sample. It should be noted that this is a public-domain e-book without modern notes or introduction, and the barrier to reading comes mainly from language and period background rather than length. It is best treated as a bedside book to dip into rather than a systematic work to be read through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with intermediate or higher Italian reading ability who want to practice the original
Readers interested in late nineteenth-century Italian literature and newspaper essays
Casual readers who enjoy short satirical sketches and fragmented reading

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Italian foundation who need translation support
Readers expecting systematic literary-history discussion or a detailed annotated edition
Readers who prefer long complete narratives and are unused to the essay genre

Reading tips

Read one or two pieces first to get used to the author’s tone, then jump around by piece; order is not essential.
Mark dialects or period expressions first and look them up after finishing a passage, so as not to interrupt the rhythm.
Read alongside concise materials on nineteenth-century Italian society to help understand the targets of the satire.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language level is needed to read this book?

The original is in Italian and dates from the late nineteenth century, so sentence patterns and vocabulary bear period traces. Intermediate or higher reading ability is recommended, with a dictionary for unfamiliar words and old-fashioned expressions; beginners will find it difficult and should first look for a translation or bilingual edition.

Does the e-book have notes or an introduction?

According to available information, this is a public-domain e-book provided by Project Gutenberg, with no indication of modern notes, introduction, or translation. Readers need to supplement background knowledge themselves and look up personal names, place names, and allusions as needed.

Is it suitable for reading straight through?

The book consists of light essayistic short pieces and is better for dipping into and choosing by interest. Forcing a straight read may lead to fatigue from the jumps in subject matter; treating it as fragmented-time reading better reveals the author’s tone.

Comments

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About the author

Vassallo, Luigi Arnaldo, 1852-1906 Author · Italian · 1852–1906

Luigi Arnaldo Vassallo (1852–1906) was an Italian journalist, playwright and poet who was mainly active in the literary circles of Milan. He founded a literary periodical and moved between journalism and literature, making him one of the more active figures in Milanese cultural life of his day. His representative work is Ciarle e macchiette, whose title suggests light conversation and character sketches, fitting his identity as a journalist and playwright. Public information about the details of his life is limited: apart from his birth and death years, nationality and the roles mentioned above, his education, specific posts and the full range of his writings are difficult to establish, so any assessment of his literary standing must rest cautiously on the surviving evidence. On the whole, he belongs to the type of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Italian provincial literary figure who relied on the press and also wrote for the theatre and as a poet.