The Code of Perela

Palazzeschi, Aldo, 1885-1974Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 256K words
Chapters: 26

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.Il codice di Perelà by Aldo PalazzeschiAuthor: Palazzeschi, Aldo, 1885-1974,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: May 2, 2015

Editor's review

Aldo Palazzeschi's Il codice di Perelà is a singular allegorical novel of the Italian avant-garde, centered on Perelà, a strange being made of smoke and born from a chimney, through whose eyes the social order woven from norms, customs, and power is examined. With a light and ironic touch it treats the weighty issues of modernity; its imagination is bold, its structure experimental, and its language combines the clarity of a fable with philosophical ambiguity. For Chinese readers it offers a window into early twentieth-century Italian avant-garde literature and the Futurist atmosphere, and serves as a literary case for thinking about the relationship between the individual and institutions. It requires some patience, since the narrative advances not through plot but as a kind of conceptual wandering. Best read slowly in quiet moments; with some background in modern Italian literary history, the text's pleasures and sharp edges become more apparent.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern Italian literature and avant-garde fiction
Readers who enjoy allegorical, philosophical narrative rather than plot-driven fiction
Researchers and graduate students seeking to broaden their view of early twentieth-century European literature
Readers able to read literary works in the original Italian or in a reliable translation

Not a good fit for

Genre-fiction readers expecting tight plotting and a clear ending
General readers with little patience for slow, demanding reading
Readers entirely unwilling to engage with experimental structure and symbolism

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the overall atmosphere; don't worry about pinning down every symbol.
Jot down passages where Perelà speaks with different social figures for easy reference later.
Read alongside background material on Italian Futurism and avant-garde literature.
If reading a translation, pay attention to how well the translator captures the ironic tone and rhythm.

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

Do I need prior knowledge of Italian literary history to read this book?

Systematic study isn't necessary, but some familiarity with the early twentieth-century Italian avant-garde and Futurist atmosphere makes the author's ironic intent and experimental methods easier to grasp. On a first reading, focus on the characters' situations and dialogue; background knowledge can be filled in as you go.

What makes the character Perelà special?

Perelà is a strange being made of smoke, born from a chimney, who enters society with an inhuman yet innocent perspective. His outsider status brings him constantly into collision with norms, customs, and power, and through this the work unfolds its allegorical examination of order and the individual.

What should I do if the plot feels loose while reading?

The work does not advance through tight plotting but is closer to a conceptual wandering. Focus on Perelà's conversations with various characters and on the settings, and read each episode as a parable; the overall meaning emerges gradually as you read.

Is this book suitable for classroom discussion?

It suits classes discussing modernism, allegorical narrative, and the relationship between the individual and institutions. The text is short but layered, easy to excerpt for close reading, and likely to provoke differing interpretations, making it good supplementary reading for literature or general-education courses.

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About the author

Palazzeschi, Aldo, 1885-1974 Author

Aldo Palazzeschi (1885–1974) was an Italian writer whose four works are held in this collection. Public information is limited, but the works at hand show that his writing spans fiction and poetry and is marked by a strong experimental bent. Il codice di Perelà unfolds an allegorical narrative around the fictional figure Perelà, with a strikingly original conception; L'Incendiario col rapporto sulla vittoria futurista di Trieste reveals his ties to the Futurist movement, with language and form inclined to rebel against tradition. Lanterna and Il Re bello likewise continue this vein of abundant imagination and gently ironic tone. Palazzeschi excelled at lodging observations of reality within absurd situations, and his work combines an avant-garde spirit with readability, making him a notable voice in twentieth-century Italian literature whose experimental writing has offered some inspiration to later authors.