Piccole anime

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 112K words
Chapters: 12

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.Piccole anime by Matilde SeraoAuthor: ,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 26, 2013

Editor's review

Piccole anime is a short-story collection by the Italian writer Matilde Serao, in the public domain as an e-book. Serao depicts with delicate strokes the daily life of ordinary people in Naples and southern Italy, with particular attention to the inner worlds of women and children. The book is brief, and its language carries the naturalist style of late nineteenth-century Italian literature; it will appeal to readers interested in Italian literature, women's writing, or the customs of Southern European street life. As an electronic text, it is easy to search and read alongside other editions. Read it slowly and attend to the emotional tension and social observation the author conveys through detail; if you have basic Italian, read the original directly to feel its narrative rhythm. Chinese readers may also consult translations or literary-historical materials for support.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Italian literature
Scholars of late nineteenth-century women's writing
Readers curious about everyday life in Naples
Learners with basic Italian who wish to read the original

Not a good fit for

Those who read only Chinese and use no supporting materials
Readers seeking strong plot and fast-paced narrative
Those with little interest in short stories and depictions of customs

Reading tips

Read one story first to feel the rhythm of the language, then decide whether to read the whole book
Consult materials on the social context after Italian unification to understand the characters' circumstances
Keep an Italian-Chinese dictionary or a translation at hand for unfamiliar expressions
After each story, note the relationships between characters and the emotional threads for later review

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 this book suitable for Italian beginners?

Not really for absolute beginners. The text is late nineteenth-century Italian, with period features in syntax and vocabulary that make it difficult for beginners. An intermediate level of Italian or above is recommended, or reading with a translation and notes.

Why does this book circulate as an e-book?

The book comes from Project Gutenberg, a platform dedicated to public-domain e-books. The work has entered the public domain, so the electronic text is freely available for searching, copying, and comparative reading; this does not mean it has new editorial notes or an introduction.

What should I keep in mind while reading?

Distinguish the author's narrative perspective from the social views of the time, and do not take the depictions of customs as the author's own position. The relationships between characters are rather fragmented; sort them out as you read, and consult chapters on naturalism and women's writing in histories of Italian literature if needed.

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

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.