Ermanno Raeli

Federico De RobertoProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 265K words
Chapters: 27

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.Ermanno Raeli by Federico De RobertoAuthor: De Roberto, Federico, 1861-1927,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: May 26, 2008

Editor's review

Ermanno Raeli is a novel by the Italian writer Federico De Roberto; this edition is the Italian public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg. De Roberto is known for psychological portraiture and a cold-eyed observation of social reality. The book centers on its protagonist, Ermanno Raeli, and dwells on his inner hesitation, self-examination and emotional conflicts rather than on a dense sequence of events. Its value lies in showing the introspective mode of late nineteenth-century Italian literature: the pace is slow, the psychological layers are finely drawn, and the tension arises from the pull between relationships and self-knowledge. It suits readers willing to slow down and attend to a character's inner world, and also suits intermediate and advanced learners of Italian reading the original to experience literary syntax and vocabulary. Since it is a public-domain electronic text, readers are advised to learn something of the author's era and literary background before entering the text, which makes it easier to grasp the characters' contradictions and the narrative's restraint.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in nineteenth-century Italian literature and the psychological novel
Learners with intermediate to advanced Italian who want to read literary originals
Readers of serious fiction who like a slow pace and inward-focused characters
Readers studying De Roberto's work or the history of Italian literature

Not a good fit for

Beginners with weak Italian who cannot yet read long sentences in the original
Readers who prefer strong plots, a fast pace and plenty of dialogue
Readers looking for light, escapist stories

Reading tips

Read the preface or author biography first to understand the late nineteenth-century Italian literary context before entering the text.
Proceed chapter by chapter, and after each, summarize the character's psychological changes in two or three sentences so the threads do not scatter.
With long sentences, first separate the subject, predicate and clause layers, then return to the meaning of the whole passage; do not puzzle over every word.
Keep brief notes on characters and key plot points to refer back to when you reach the second half.

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

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

The information states only that this edition is the Italian public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg and does not mention a Chinese translation. To read in Chinese you would need to look for other published editions; the text of this edition is in Italian.

What level of Italian is needed to read it?

This is literary narrative with long sentences and dense psychological description; intermediate to advanced Italian reading ability is advisable before attempting the original. If your vocabulary is limited, read paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary, or use audio resources alongside to become familiar with the feel of the language.

Is the plot strong, or is it a slow read?

According to the information, this is a narrative work by De Roberto focused on characters' psychology and emotional conflict; the pace is slow and it does not rely on a dense sequence of events. Readers used to fast-paced stories should adjust their expectations and proceed steadily chapter by chapter.

What should I keep in mind when reading the electronic edition?

Public-domain electronic texts may vary in formatting; use a reader with adjustable font size and line spacing, and enlarge the spacing when there are many long sentences. Mark chapters and keep notes on characters as you read so you can review the psychological threads.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Federico De Roberto Author · Italian · 1861–1927

Federico De Roberto (1861–1927) was an Italian verismo writer. Born in Naples, he moved with his family to Catania in early childhood. He began his career in journalism and associated with leading verismo writers such as Verga and Capuana, whose influence shaped his own fiction. His masterpiece, I Viceré, traces the rise and fall of a Sicilian aristocratic family to reflect the social changes around Italian unification; his other works include L'Illusione, Ermanno Raeli, Documenti Umani and Catania. His fiction focuses chiefly on Sicilian society and historical change, with a precise, restrained style and close attention to psychology and social observation. Twelve of his works are held in the collection. Public information on his life and writing is limited and calls for further study.