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A History of Objects: A Collection of Stories
A candy box reveals a son's true feelings for his mother. A fish sculpture creeps into a budding and healthy relationship. A splint on a music teacher's finger threatens to expose a secret.
Objects can come to hold great power over life and the course it takes. This collection of short stories explores the nuances of the human experience as objects of sentimental value, nostalgic appeal or cultural significance bear witness and shed light on all that remains unsaid. A History of Objects expertly demonstrates the ways in which the inanimate are far from lifeless.
Objects can come to hold great power over life and the course it takes. This collection of short stories explores the nuances of the human experience as objects of sentimental value, nostalgic appeal or cultural significance bear witness and shed light on all that remains unsaid. A History of Objects expertly demonstrates the ways in which the inanimate are far from lifeless.
228 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2022
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Carlo Pizzati
12 books16 followersCarlo Pizzati is the award-winning multilingual author of ten books of fiction and non-fiction. He is an editorialist and a political analyst for la Repubblica and la Stampa who has taught a post-graduate course in theory of communication at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.
He’s been a correspondent from New York, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rome, Madrid and Chennai. He’s covered the Northern Ireland strife, guerrilla war in Colombia, the narcos business in the Andes, smuggling of immigrants in Mexico, civil rights battles in Chile, pro-environment militancy in the French atoll of Mururoa, and the GMO battle in Europe and the US.
He’s won two Gambrinus-Mazzotti prizes (Exploration & Travel, and The Voice of the Readers); the Leonardo International Prix and the Igor Man Prize and has lectured at his alma mater, Columbia University, at New York University, Loyola University, Yonsei University, Ca’ Foscari and Sapienza Universities.
He lives in Paramankeni, a fishermen’s village in Southern India, with his wife and a few Pi dogs.
Novels in Italian:
"Una linea lampeggiante all'orizzonte" (Baldini + Castoldi 2022)
“Nimodo” (Feltrinelli 2014)
“Criminàl” (FBE 2010 Milan)
Non-fiction in Italian and English:
"La Tigre e il Drone" (Marsilio 2020)
"Bending Over Backwards" (Harper Collins 2019)
"Mappillai - an Italian son-in-law in India" (Simon & Schuster 2018)
"Tecnosciamani" (Punto d'Incontro 2012)
Essays and Conversations in English:
"The Edge of an Era" (Juggernaut 2016).
Short stories collections in English and Italian:
"A History of Objects" (Harper Collins 2022)
“Il Passo Che Cerchi,” (Edelweiss 2012)
Screenplay made into a feature movie:
“Non lo so ancora” - 2012
more at: www.carlopizzati.com
He’s been a correspondent from New York, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rome, Madrid and Chennai. He’s covered the Northern Ireland strife, guerrilla war in Colombia, the narcos business in the Andes, smuggling of immigrants in Mexico, civil rights battles in Chile, pro-environment militancy in the French atoll of Mururoa, and the GMO battle in Europe and the US.
He’s won two Gambrinus-Mazzotti prizes (Exploration & Travel, and The Voice of the Readers); the Leonardo International Prix and the Igor Man Prize and has lectured at his alma mater, Columbia University, at New York University, Loyola University, Yonsei University, Ca’ Foscari and Sapienza Universities.
He lives in Paramankeni, a fishermen’s village in Southern India, with his wife and a few Pi dogs.
Novels in Italian:
"Una linea lampeggiante all'orizzonte" (Baldini + Castoldi 2022)
“Nimodo” (Feltrinelli 2014)
“Criminàl” (FBE 2010 Milan)
Non-fiction in Italian and English:
"La Tigre e il Drone" (Marsilio 2020)
"Bending Over Backwards" (Harper Collins 2019)
"Mappillai - an Italian son-in-law in India" (Simon & Schuster 2018)
"Tecnosciamani" (Punto d'Incontro 2012)
Essays and Conversations in English:
"The Edge of an Era" (Juggernaut 2016).
Short stories collections in English and Italian:
"A History of Objects" (Harper Collins 2022)
“Il Passo Che Cerchi,” (Edelweiss 2012)
Screenplay made into a feature movie:
“Non lo so ancora” - 2012
more at: www.carlopizzati.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 18, 2022
American poet and short story writer Raymond Carver had once said, ‘It’s possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things—a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman’s earring—with immense, even startling power.’
An observation that is borne out well by Carlo Pizzati in A History of Objects: A Collection of Stories. Indeed, just about every conceivable type of object exists within the pages of this slim book. There are toys here, and works of art; pieces of clothing; electronic equipment; furniture. Even—so appropriate, given the times we live in—a mask and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
All of them, in some way or the other, play an important part in the story to which they lend their name. Some, like the coconut scraper, the splint, and the smartphone, are the very focus of the story. Others (and these, in fact, are in the majority) appear only briefly in the story: one sentence or two, at the most a paragraph—but in that brief mention, those few sentences, they cement their position in the story. As something that could change lives.
There is the bottle of hand sanitizer, for instance, so commonplace in these times, that upturns the power equation between a moneyed family and its driver. Or the teddy bear, mute witness to a momentous encounter, a turning point in a young woman’s life. The bench, at a lit fest, that sparks off a tense encounter, or the VHS tape, not important in itself, but the case of which is used to hide something potentially lethal.
Each story, no more than ten pages long (most are shorter), is named for an object, although how and where that object will appear within the story cannot be predicted, just as the story itself cannot be predicted. Pizzati traverses the world; switches perspectives; speaks now as a man, now as a woman; is often witty but manages, too, to produce tales that are sometimes both disturbing as well as poignant and insightful.
Beyond the fact that they are all about objects , the insight these stories offer is possibly their most visible hallmark. In subtle ways, each story here offers something by way of a glimpse into human nature. The need of a teenager, painfully aware of her own poverty compared to the wealth of her luxury-loving friends, to somehow match them in The Sweater. Or the mad race to garner social media engagement by an Instagram-obsessed couple in The Smartphone. The shock to the sense of superiority, and the resultant rush to redeem it, in The Hand Sanitizer. Or the many nuances of lost love that are revealed through The Slippers, The Shoes, and The Jade Stone.
More often than not, Pizzati uses wit to shine the light on an object. Many of these stories have a quirky twist to them; The Splint, for example, about a man who is convinced he has been given another chance at life—all because of a splint on a broken finger. Or The Diaper, where, in the midst of changing diapers, a man decides to turn vegetarian. None of these witty stories are the laugh-in-every line type; the humour, often black (or at least charcoal), comes in briefly but impactfully. One sudden twist at the end of a story, and the story itself acquires a whole new dimension.
A History of Objects is delightful and quirky, poignant and thought-provoking, all at the same time. These are thoroughly entertaining, deeply satisfying stories, an exploration of the world of inanimate objects. In a literature that tends to place a lot of emphasis on characters and their development, Pizzati’s stories are a refreshing step to the side. An oblique, out-of-the-box look at objects rather than people.
(From my review for Open: The Magazine, https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/bo...)
An observation that is borne out well by Carlo Pizzati in A History of Objects: A Collection of Stories. Indeed, just about every conceivable type of object exists within the pages of this slim book. There are toys here, and works of art; pieces of clothing; electronic equipment; furniture. Even—so appropriate, given the times we live in—a mask and a bottle of hand sanitizer.
All of them, in some way or the other, play an important part in the story to which they lend their name. Some, like the coconut scraper, the splint, and the smartphone, are the very focus of the story. Others (and these, in fact, are in the majority) appear only briefly in the story: one sentence or two, at the most a paragraph—but in that brief mention, those few sentences, they cement their position in the story. As something that could change lives.
There is the bottle of hand sanitizer, for instance, so commonplace in these times, that upturns the power equation between a moneyed family and its driver. Or the teddy bear, mute witness to a momentous encounter, a turning point in a young woman’s life. The bench, at a lit fest, that sparks off a tense encounter, or the VHS tape, not important in itself, but the case of which is used to hide something potentially lethal.
Each story, no more than ten pages long (most are shorter), is named for an object, although how and where that object will appear within the story cannot be predicted, just as the story itself cannot be predicted. Pizzati traverses the world; switches perspectives; speaks now as a man, now as a woman; is often witty but manages, too, to produce tales that are sometimes both disturbing as well as poignant and insightful.
Beyond the fact that they are all about objects , the insight these stories offer is possibly their most visible hallmark. In subtle ways, each story here offers something by way of a glimpse into human nature. The need of a teenager, painfully aware of her own poverty compared to the wealth of her luxury-loving friends, to somehow match them in The Sweater. Or the mad race to garner social media engagement by an Instagram-obsessed couple in The Smartphone. The shock to the sense of superiority, and the resultant rush to redeem it, in The Hand Sanitizer. Or the many nuances of lost love that are revealed through The Slippers, The Shoes, and The Jade Stone.
More often than not, Pizzati uses wit to shine the light on an object. Many of these stories have a quirky twist to them; The Splint, for example, about a man who is convinced he has been given another chance at life—all because of a splint on a broken finger. Or The Diaper, where, in the midst of changing diapers, a man decides to turn vegetarian. None of these witty stories are the laugh-in-every line type; the humour, often black (or at least charcoal), comes in briefly but impactfully. One sudden twist at the end of a story, and the story itself acquires a whole new dimension.
A History of Objects is delightful and quirky, poignant and thought-provoking, all at the same time. These are thoroughly entertaining, deeply satisfying stories, an exploration of the world of inanimate objects. In a literature that tends to place a lot of emphasis on characters and their development, Pizzati’s stories are a refreshing step to the side. An oblique, out-of-the-box look at objects rather than people.
(From my review for Open: The Magazine, https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/bo...)
April 15, 2022
“Every object is a piece of information that always comes with an embedded pair of instructions.”
― Joey Lawsin, Originemology
The book A History of Objects is a collection of contemporary short stories centered around certain objects. These innocuous objects turned out to be pivotal in some stories and in others form a vital part of the story. Hence, a hard drive, a VHS tape, a splinter, and a candy box are objects in just of few of the twenty-three stories in this collection.
All the titles for the short stories are the object that will be part of the story.
A diaper becomes the center point of why one person becomes a vegan. A hand santitizer throws a family into turmoil…
The locations vary from India to Italy to the US. Some stories are funny, others make you think. Objects as simple as a Hand Sanitizer can cause animosity. Modern art becomes an object of light humor when a coconut scraper becomes a prized possession. You will find there are some stories with 3-4 page stories and others with ten pages or more. The Hard Drive starts us off on the journey through an array of human emotions triggered by harmless objects. It is literally where it all begins…
“I remember a file with the word ‘Objects’ in the title. What did it contain?” and so begins our introduction to the short stories. He recollects the stories, the mysteries that must be in the files that he has destroyed and must now reinvent.
“I am looking at my desktop screen with all the neatly organized folders labelled NON-FICTION, HEALTH, TRAVELS, PROJECTS IN PROGRESS…”
I really like the easy way the book is written. Author Carlo Pizzati has used simple words in an easy to read style that as a result, makes the book a pleasant afternoon read. I curled up on a couch in a corner and read the book non-stop. The stories are entertaining with dark humor, love, philosophy and a host of other human emotions at play.
Read about the human tragedy that is the pandemic, which still holds us in its grip in The Mask. It is set in Italy during the worst of the crisis in 2020. Another story set in California is about a mother, son and their cats, The Leash. The story The Splint leads us to a secret in London no less. India is the location for the opening story – The Coconut Scrapper.
At first, I felt a shiver at the end of The Driver’s License; later, I felt sad at the ending of The Diaper. I went through so many other emotions with every story I read. Envy plays a role in The Sweater that also tests friendship, for instance. The locations are different but the emotions are international.
The author says in his notes that some of his friends and acquaintances may see themselves in the stories and not mind the emotions that this will bring on as “Life is fleeting; we leave nothing behind and are soon forgotten. You might as well leave a story”
In Conclusion
I liked everything about A History of Objects. There was nothing not to like. It is easy to read, keeps your interest, and reflects the emotions we experience or see around us in our daily life. As a result, I ended up reflecting on the various emotions the book brings to life. This slim book is easy to hold when lounging around. Something I think is important because my book reading is usually in a lounging position!
― Joey Lawsin, Originemology
The book A History of Objects is a collection of contemporary short stories centered around certain objects. These innocuous objects turned out to be pivotal in some stories and in others form a vital part of the story. Hence, a hard drive, a VHS tape, a splinter, and a candy box are objects in just of few of the twenty-three stories in this collection.
All the titles for the short stories are the object that will be part of the story.
A diaper becomes the center point of why one person becomes a vegan. A hand santitizer throws a family into turmoil…
The locations vary from India to Italy to the US. Some stories are funny, others make you think. Objects as simple as a Hand Sanitizer can cause animosity. Modern art becomes an object of light humor when a coconut scraper becomes a prized possession. You will find there are some stories with 3-4 page stories and others with ten pages or more. The Hard Drive starts us off on the journey through an array of human emotions triggered by harmless objects. It is literally where it all begins…
“I remember a file with the word ‘Objects’ in the title. What did it contain?” and so begins our introduction to the short stories. He recollects the stories, the mysteries that must be in the files that he has destroyed and must now reinvent.
“I am looking at my desktop screen with all the neatly organized folders labelled NON-FICTION, HEALTH, TRAVELS, PROJECTS IN PROGRESS…”
I really like the easy way the book is written. Author Carlo Pizzati has used simple words in an easy to read style that as a result, makes the book a pleasant afternoon read. I curled up on a couch in a corner and read the book non-stop. The stories are entertaining with dark humor, love, philosophy and a host of other human emotions at play.
Read about the human tragedy that is the pandemic, which still holds us in its grip in The Mask. It is set in Italy during the worst of the crisis in 2020. Another story set in California is about a mother, son and their cats, The Leash. The story The Splint leads us to a secret in London no less. India is the location for the opening story – The Coconut Scrapper.
At first, I felt a shiver at the end of The Driver’s License; later, I felt sad at the ending of The Diaper. I went through so many other emotions with every story I read. Envy plays a role in The Sweater that also tests friendship, for instance. The locations are different but the emotions are international.
The author says in his notes that some of his friends and acquaintances may see themselves in the stories and not mind the emotions that this will bring on as “Life is fleeting; we leave nothing behind and are soon forgotten. You might as well leave a story”
In Conclusion
I liked everything about A History of Objects. There was nothing not to like. It is easy to read, keeps your interest, and reflects the emotions we experience or see around us in our daily life. As a result, I ended up reflecting on the various emotions the book brings to life. This slim book is easy to hold when lounging around. Something I think is important because my book reading is usually in a lounging position!
August 6, 2022
It was a March evening, I find myself rejoicing this book of the short story collection. Usually, I don’t read in the evening, but these few days were different, I enjoyed reading in the evening, it felt very cool and relaxing. A beautiful combination of lightness, warmth, and remarkably impressive with its austere simple writing style that creates short stories readable.
The Book opens up in a captivating style, it starts with a story that reflects psychological aspects of our life and it left me with a question. Some stories ended in a cliffhanger. Sometimes stories asked questions, some stories left me amused. There’s laughter, there’s loss and sadness, there are chilling surprises to sublime exploring of social psychology, self-discovery, everything I can expect from a short story collection book, I find here. Some stories remind me of Kafka and Albert Camus that I read in my teens, this book reminds me of those evenings of summer vacations.
All the stories are set in today’s society, yes, I mean it, even some stories set in the pandemic situation of last year’s. Isn’t it sound interesting? Stories here spread throughout the world. It draws in the huge canvas of the world map.
Plots revolved around simple normal people. Here author Carlos Pizzati tells 23 short stories and I listened to him in the total enchantment of the intellectual and artistic brilliance of his stories. All the characters, mannerisms, and physical attributes are felt vividly. I enjoyed this Evocative writing.
Its’ lucid uncomplicated narrative is enough to unexpected falling into a friendship with this book. How some small objects could be reasonable for making such incidents! How a hard disk raises such a penetrating question, how a paper-holder can be a starter to illuminate our life, objects can come to hold great power over life, so true.
All in all, this book is a beautiful light read, you can definitely try it.
The Book opens up in a captivating style, it starts with a story that reflects psychological aspects of our life and it left me with a question. Some stories ended in a cliffhanger. Sometimes stories asked questions, some stories left me amused. There’s laughter, there’s loss and sadness, there are chilling surprises to sublime exploring of social psychology, self-discovery, everything I can expect from a short story collection book, I find here. Some stories remind me of Kafka and Albert Camus that I read in my teens, this book reminds me of those evenings of summer vacations.
All the stories are set in today’s society, yes, I mean it, even some stories set in the pandemic situation of last year’s. Isn’t it sound interesting? Stories here spread throughout the world. It draws in the huge canvas of the world map.
Plots revolved around simple normal people. Here author Carlos Pizzati tells 23 short stories and I listened to him in the total enchantment of the intellectual and artistic brilliance of his stories. All the characters, mannerisms, and physical attributes are felt vividly. I enjoyed this Evocative writing.
Its’ lucid uncomplicated narrative is enough to unexpected falling into a friendship with this book. How some small objects could be reasonable for making such incidents! How a hard disk raises such a penetrating question, how a paper-holder can be a starter to illuminate our life, objects can come to hold great power over life, so true.
All in all, this book is a beautiful light read, you can definitely try it.
July 17, 2024
What’s not to love in a collection of stories that walks the reader through life’s various seasons with mundane objects that leave lasting impressions?
This enchanting collection of stories baring modern-living includes objects that are habitually or significantly attached to human living. Their presence is their purpose, moulding lives in mystical ways. It would be hard to find an analogy to emphasize their character but they can be easily credited for the realism they add to the stories they belong to. A mask, a bench, a smart phone, a teddy bear, a candy-box, a pair of slippers to name a few are objects that evoke emotions as deep as loss, nostalgia, occasionally a sigh and some bright smiles.
A revelation, a realization or an indefinite change find their meaning through these stories, at times ending abruptly for further meditation by the reader unlike those with a comforting closure. A sense of implicit familiarity prevails through the stories as discovering life is a constant parallel.
Written about places and people across continents while accommodating the uncalled for change brought by the pandemic, these stories form a wholesome bunch.
Carlo Pizzati’s attempt to describe the power of objects on life is a success as these stories are simple, exhibiting an artistic charm with a perfect balance to captivate attention and eventually appeal.
This enchanting collection of stories baring modern-living includes objects that are habitually or significantly attached to human living. Their presence is their purpose, moulding lives in mystical ways. It would be hard to find an analogy to emphasize their character but they can be easily credited for the realism they add to the stories they belong to. A mask, a bench, a smart phone, a teddy bear, a candy-box, a pair of slippers to name a few are objects that evoke emotions as deep as loss, nostalgia, occasionally a sigh and some bright smiles.
A revelation, a realization or an indefinite change find their meaning through these stories, at times ending abruptly for further meditation by the reader unlike those with a comforting closure. A sense of implicit familiarity prevails through the stories as discovering life is a constant parallel.
Written about places and people across continents while accommodating the uncalled for change brought by the pandemic, these stories form a wholesome bunch.
Carlo Pizzati’s attempt to describe the power of objects on life is a success as these stories are simple, exhibiting an artistic charm with a perfect balance to captivate attention and eventually appeal.
April 20, 2022
It is a collection of short stories revolving around various objects that may hold sentimental values in one's life or connected to human life in one form or the other.
There are a total of 23 short stories covering diverse themes and locations with a subtle hint of humor and hence letting you explore different emotions and places altogether within this book of around 200 pages.
It took me around a month to finish this book as I read it slowly, one story at a time. Although some were really intriguing, the others felt flat. I couldn't connect to a lot of them but the other were amazing. "The Portrait" and "The coconut Scraper" were among the ones that I really enjoyed, the former one especially because of the creepy vibes at the end.
This book is really unique, although I have mixed feelings about whether I loved it or not coz I enjoyed it in bits and not as a whole, but it definitely made me think about a lot of things. It is thought provoking and teaches us the importance of certain objects that occupy a special place in our hearts.
If you're a fan of short stories, you can definitely consider reading this one.
Happy reading!!!💕
There are a total of 23 short stories covering diverse themes and locations with a subtle hint of humor and hence letting you explore different emotions and places altogether within this book of around 200 pages.
It took me around a month to finish this book as I read it slowly, one story at a time. Although some were really intriguing, the others felt flat. I couldn't connect to a lot of them but the other were amazing. "The Portrait" and "The coconut Scraper" were among the ones that I really enjoyed, the former one especially because of the creepy vibes at the end.
This book is really unique, although I have mixed feelings about whether I loved it or not coz I enjoyed it in bits and not as a whole, but it definitely made me think about a lot of things. It is thought provoking and teaches us the importance of certain objects that occupy a special place in our hearts.
If you're a fan of short stories, you can definitely consider reading this one.
Happy reading!!!💕
April 6, 2022
The objects we are surrounded by define us. They are a repository of emotions and memories…a map of our relationship with the world around us.
In this collection of 23 short stories — and they are short; no story is over 10 pages long, most are much shorter — a number of objects play a central role in a narrative. Others make a brief appearance at pivotal points in the story.
Like with most collections of short stories, some of these stories are better than others; I’ve come to believe it’s a function of the genre. But as a sum of its parts, A History of Objects is a very pleasant read — often delightful, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, occasionally frightening.
Full review here: https://moderngypsy.in/2022/04/06/boo...
In this collection of 23 short stories — and they are short; no story is over 10 pages long, most are much shorter — a number of objects play a central role in a narrative. Others make a brief appearance at pivotal points in the story.
Like with most collections of short stories, some of these stories are better than others; I’ve come to believe it’s a function of the genre. But as a sum of its parts, A History of Objects is a very pleasant read — often delightful, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, occasionally frightening.
Full review here: https://moderngypsy.in/2022/04/06/boo...
May 3, 2022
It's a materialistic world. Immense significance is assigned to things or objects. As a matter of fact , in some of the cases it becomes a benchmark to judge.
However, having said above, it would not be correct to have a complete negative outlook towards the importance assigned to these objects. At many occasions they do act as a source / momento of inspiration , memory , emotions etc. They are tangibles but a certain intangible is always attached to them which is what makes it what the writer has tried to explain (may be immortal is the word, not sure though)
It makes you reponder as to the very meaning of an object and in this process may be you will come up with a short story of your own concerning an object which you possess or once possessed or plan to possess.
However, having said above, it would not be correct to have a complete negative outlook towards the importance assigned to these objects. At many occasions they do act as a source / momento of inspiration , memory , emotions etc. They are tangibles but a certain intangible is always attached to them which is what makes it what the writer has tried to explain (may be immortal is the word, not sure though)
It makes you reponder as to the very meaning of an object and in this process may be you will come up with a short story of your own concerning an object which you possess or once possessed or plan to possess.
October 25, 2022
A geographically wide ranging set of stories with the backgrounds across the world, and across different classes, audience and settings.
A few stories had an impact on me but many didnt get to me. So this worked only in parts for me.
A few stories had an impact on me but many didnt get to me. So this worked only in parts for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews