Italian Folktales

published	1992 by Harvest/HBJ Book
binding	Paperback
isbn	0156454890 (isbn13: 9780156454896)
pages	800
description	Chosen as one of the New York Times’s ten best books in the year of its original publication, this collection immediately won a cherished place ...more [close] Chosen as one of the New York Times’s ten best books in the year of its original publication, this collection immediately won a cherished place among lovers of the tale and vaulted Calvino into the ranks of the great folklorists. Introduction by the Author; illustrations. Translated by George Martin. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
date added	12-13-06 edit book

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Laura rated it:

11/27/07

Read in June, 1998

recommends it for: Everyone

Most traditional stories were past down from generation to generation in an oral tradition which made for well paced and entertaining stories. Sadly they are often retold in the hands of someone with a pace that is comparable to a three legged horse in a race, and sadly not as entertaining. (I know some of you are thinking I'm awful for that right now and are taking a moment to think the worst of me.) Thankfully, Italo Calvino lent his hand to the collecting and retelling of Italian folktales...more Most traditional stories were past down from generation to generation in an oral tradition which made for well paced and entertaining stories. Sadly they are often retold in the hands of someone with a pace that is comparable to a three legged horse in a race, and sadly not as entertaining. (I know some of you are thinking I'm awful for that right now and are taking a moment to think the worst of me.) Thankfully, Italo Calvino lent his hand to the collecting and retelling of Italian folktales and so all the stories in this book have his excellent gift for entertaining telling. This helps at times where the stories run the risk of sounding otherwise repetitive, which happens often in folktales. Most often collections of folk tales are either slim volumes of a few stories that have been continuously recycled or you have to buy several books in a series to obtain the complete collection by a certain editor. This book weighs in at 800 pages and so you can sit rooted in the same spot for days while reading all of the stories. I don't actually recommend doing that. Here is how I propose you read stories from the book: Prepare a pot of whatever warm beverage tickles your fancy, (this can be anything from mulled cider to tea to coffee), find the most comfortable place in the house, (if you are pet owner this will be the place that your cat or dog is likely already occupying in this case you must displace them), make sure that the only noise that may disrupt you is from the local wildlife outside your window, if you have other people to read with or to gather them as well only make sure they don't take your comfy spot, open the book, read the introduction, (well being realistic you will nobly try and read it for two sentences, then you will skim for a couple of paragraphs and then you will give up), and begin with the first story. It's okay to take the occasional break from reading the tales however I recommend that you do not give it up for more than a few minutes at a time! If you have your doubts about how good this collection might be I'll have you know that this book is so well liked that I have had it stolen from me, twice. So please go out and invest the money into your own copy of the book and leave mine to my bookshelf!...less

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Italian Folktales

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