Pinocchio

By Carlo Collodi and Umberto Eco

Though one of the best-known books in the world, Pinocchioat the same time remains unknown—linked in many minds to the Walt Disney movie that bears little relation to Carlo Collodi’s splendid original. That story is of course about a puppet who, after many trials, succeeds in becoming a “real boy.” Yet it is hardly a sentimental or morally improving tale. To the contrary, Pinocchio is one of the great subversives of the written page, a madcap genius hurtled along at the pleasure and mercy of his desires, a renegade who in many ways resembles his near contemporary Huck Finn.

Pinocchio the novel, no less than Pinocchio the character, is one of the great inventions of modern literature. A sublime anomaly, the book merges the traditions of the picaresque, of street theater, and of folk and fairy tales into a work that is at once adventure, satire, and a powerful enchantment that anticipates surrealism and magical realism. Thronged with memorable characters and composed with the fluid but inevitable logic of a dream, Pinocchio is an endlessly fascinating work that is essential equipment for life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781590175491

Carlo Collodi

Carlo Collodi (1826–1890) is the pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini, an Italian children’s writer. His most famous work, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’, first appeared in 1880, published weekly in a newspaper for children. The novel’s eponymous character has transcended the page and taken on a life of his own, appearing in films, television, plays, and spinoff works.

Reviews for Pinocchio

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1981-05-20)I am reading the English version of Pinocchio; I read it, obviously many times in my language and the other day I found a small book with this title and I was curious to see how it was in a different language from mine. I also want to "invite him for dinner" as it is the title of a context of a famous Italian newspaper (writing an invitation for a character of a book at your choice) but I have not yet written a word. I am not too keen on inviting to meals, it means extra work and I did it enough. But maybe by reading it I’ll get inspired.I read Pinocchio in a dual English/Italian text. My Italian is pretty much limited to what I have gleaned from endless listening to the Mozart/da Ponte operas, so I only occasionally referred to the original language. I did come away with the word (and concept) “tornagusto”, a kind of appetizer taken mid-meal, between courses. The word occurs in the scene in which the Fox buys an elaborate meal with Pinocchio’s gold. I’ve since learned that it isn’t a common word in Italian and may be a Collodi coinage. It’s likely that a tornagusto is only needed for overindulged appetites, which definitely happens in my reading from time to time. That’s proven a useful concept in my reading life – having temporarily exhausted my interest in a particular branch of reading, I turn to a short work or essay collection as a kind of mental “tornagusto.”The peculiarity of Pinocchio is that his nose grows when he tells lies (I bet you didn’t know this…); imagine what would happen if it was so also for us? Particularly politicians...there would be real fun, I suppose.[2018 EDIT: Tornagusto is a sort of" feel the taste again", the flavour and the pleasure of life, of reading and of many things, in the end. Nice, I think that from time to time we all need a tornagusto. But the pleasure of music do not need one : it is all over, I can hear the chirping chirping sound of a bird conversation in the garden through my open window and I do not need tornagusto to appreciate the beauty of spring, here again after a long period of cold and rain. And Mozart...I love, I adore him. Since I was a little boy, I always found him absolutely marvellous, and it helped me in several life instances...tornagusto listening to the serenata in sol magggiore opera etc., and it’ll all melt into that fascinating air.]

[abergsman-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this to my daughter, it was the first time for both of us. Yes, there is a talking cricket, but thankfully his name is not Jiminy. The Blue Fairy has a very prominent role in the original story, she is whimsical, complex character.

This edition, in particular, is utterly enchanting. The illustrations by Italian illustrator Roberto Innocenti are beautiful.

I personally believe that children should not only be exposed to sugar-coated stories, so we always aim to read fairy tales in their original form. Pinocchio was no exception, and this was a delightful read.

[alanwpowers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As everyone knows, Pinocchio is a Liar who is penalized (or possibly rewarded in length of nose) every time he lies, very like the current US President, whose silk tie grows longer with every lie.Here's another, my second comparison to our President Pinocchio, Liar-in-Chief. The carpenter who fashioned Pinocchio, Gepetto, forgot to give him ears; nor does the President listen to anyone. Comparison three: neither the President nor Pinocchio reads, but Pinocchio sacrifices to purchase an Abecedario in order to learn to read. And in fact, Pinocchio admires books, later becomes the best student in his class, so good that he will be turned into a real human boy in one day, but a friend leads him away to where there are no books or schools, and Pinocchio and his friend first grow donkey's ears, and eventually get all grey skins, asses. Pinocchio becomes a donkey in a circus.(Ch.11)Comparison four: both Pin and Prez are puppets, who have torn away from their puppeteers, Gepetto and Putin. Or maybe only Pinocchio has left his puppeteer.Comparison five: at one point, Pinocchio limps, and of course the Trumpster has trouble with steps, tries grabbing his wife's hand, who doesn't want to support a 300 lb man going down steps.For comparison six, see my penulitimate paragraph below.The first carpenter who started carving the wood into the puppet was called Maestro Ciliegia/ Cherry because his nose was red as one. As in Dr Seuss, several characters share nasal distinctions.Pinocchio is convinced to bury his five pieces of gold into the Campo dei miracoli, to result in thousands the next day according to a Limping Wolf and a Blind Cat (both faked, though later in the story they become what they faked). When he tries to dig up his treasure, thieves approach and he runs and runs. Several references to thieves, "ceffi" or "ladri."Towards the end Pinocchio turns back from an over-worked donkey to himself, when he swims in the sea and is swallowed by a (whale?) shark, where he finds his Gepetto, old and frail. He escapes with his babbo, who cannot swim, and carries him on his back to shore. When he needs money in Ch 9 (2/3 the way through), he doesn't dare ask for charity, because his Dad Gepetto always said only two kinds of people have the right to beg charity: "i vecchi e i malatti," the old and the sick (p. 61, Aschehoug, 1972). So Collodi in the 19C moralizes directly, didactically.His book ends with Pinocchio turning from a wooden puppet into a real boy, and his babbo is healed, through Pinocchio's reform: Babbo tells him, "When bad boys become good, they give an entirely new and joyful aspect to their house, their entire family." (p.96) Would that the Prez had learned this from his Dad.I recall thinking it has fairly small vocabulary, but it's much longer than Seuss. Theodor Seuss Geisel lived in my hometown of Springfield, MA, on Mulberry St, and set a goal of books with 225-240 different words. Turns out, Easy Reader (Mondadori) edition sorts Pinocchio under 1200 word vocabulary as Collodi (Carlo Lorenzini) wrote it.

[ropppop · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story of "Pinocchio" is told as a graphic novel. It is a classic fiction of a story told a long time ago. A lonely carpenter made a boy out of wood and by tickling that boy with his paint brush, the boy came to life. Like all other boys in this life, he had an urge to find adventure and fun in life and so that little wooden Pinocchio runs away. One of the hard things that Pinocchiio has found out is that if he lies - his nose will grow. Very embarassing to him because he now knows that other people see him lying. He needs to have fun in life and as a young boy too but he needs to grow up and realize that the true part of life is telling the truth and being loved by your family.The scenes in this book are very dramatic and moving. They show a colorful feeling picture that allows the reader to go with the story. At times you will feel that you are a part of Pinocchio. The feelings that he has will flow on to the reader and move your heart. The illustrator showed each part of the characters with the paint brush and pencil. One thing that adds to this story and the illustrations are the colors added to each picture. Not black and white, but happy colors - yellow, red and green. But at times when Pinocchio has reached a hard part, the colors change to brown, dark blue and dreary grey. It helps the reader to understand the true feelings of being in the story. Try it and the reader will understand.

[kylak_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Classic tale.

[edellaporta-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ok, longer than others by Powell and it has chapters. Like illustrator Alfonso Ruiz. Good for ESL.

[hamlet61-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Disney Movie, Pinocchio, was my first exposure to the character and the story when I was a child. It terrified me. I acquired this edition in Florence some years back and hadn't read it until now. To put it mildly, it makes the Disney version look like Toy Story. Granted, it is well-written (even in translation) and beautifully illustrated. And I do appreciate its allegorical themes and hero's quest motifs. That being said, Pinocchio kills the cricket (aka Jiminy in my childhood memory) with a hammer; the marioneteer wants to burn him alive; Pinocchio falls asleep by the fire and burns his feet off; the fox and the cat hang him from a tree to die. Bad boys turning into Donkeys is hardly the worst of it.Seriously, I think it is one of the best (still terrifying) examples of episodic literature ever written, with timeless characters and a strong moral compass. I am sorry I waited so long to read this version, and I plan to seek out others.

[aprille_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Pinocchio is much darker than Disney's version. Pinocchio is much less attractive at the start -- clearly self-centered, unthinking and dumb. It is fascinating to watch the transformation from irresponsibility to responsibility. Along the way, Pinocchio loses his money, believes he has contributed to killing a playmate, betrays the blue fairy's trust, lies, etc. My sister said she has read a C.S. Lewis commentary on Pinocchio which claims the story is a metaphor for the creation of man and his attempt to be good. I think that probably there is also an allegory about Italian nationalism there too that I could understand if I knew more about the subject. There is a new scholarly edition of the text in English, annotated by an Italian professor from the University of California. Both children loved the story and actually thought about how their behavior compared with Pinocchio's (mostly favorably, thank goodness). We discussed whether Pinocchio deserved what he got or not in each instance. They felt that the ending happened too quickly -- that it wasn't paced right. Perhaps this was a consequence of the original serial presentation. The kids also enjoyed figuring out when Pinocchio was being tricked and being wiser than he was.

[isatyajeet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story conceals an exceptional spíritual allegory, that is based on esoteric teachings, and contains plenty of metaphysical aspects. The 'universal' character of Pinocchio beautifully represents the fundamental human motifs of our experience as we evolve; it captures archetypal patterns and really complex themes of conscience, valour, and the search for identity, in an outstanding and yet simple narrative. Not many people are aware of the underlying meaning of this story of a wooden puppet, who is trying to become a good boy. This is a deeply spiritual story that is rooted from the Mystery schools of occultism.
This Children's book of wisdom that teaches children to 'Not lie', finds a route and becomes a man’s quest for wisdom and spiritual enlightenment. It takes a little more work to understand the hidden gnostic meaning behind this, and going through Collodi's background and literary references, helps a lot.

Giovanni Malevolti once said:
"There are two ways to read Pinocchio. The first is what I would call “profane” where the reader, most probably a child, learns about the mishaps of the wooden puppet. The second is a reading from a Masonic point of view, where heavy symbolism will complete, without replacing, the simple and linearly narration of events."

About the movie, there are many differences between the Disney movie and the original text. The movie was obviously over-simplified, and Pinocchio is an innocent and jolly character, instead of a little more grim depiction (of a stubborn and ungrateful misfit) from the book. Disney has an old habit of turning originally dark, grim, and twisted children’s fables into sickeningly sweet happily ever afters. I mean like as some people say for the Sleeping Beauty , that it is based on a story where a married king finds a girl asleep, and can’t wake her, so rapes her instead. Heard this one? Me neither.

Anyways, I strongly recommend going with this particular version (ISBN: 0520246861), as it has the complete text in both Italian and English, with the original Black & White illustrations by Enrico Mazzanti.





A famous literary critic once said:
“Pinocchio is the testing ground for foreigners; whoever understands the beauty of Pinocchio, understands Italy.”
—

[nosajeel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, if a little repetitive. It's hard to read it through anything other than the Disney version, but it is reasonably different--including a Pinocchio who is meaner and more problem ridden (e.g., within the first few pages he hits the cricket with a hammer), a cat/wolf that are more persistent and interesting than the Disney ones, and an even more moving ending about how Pinocchio finally becomes a boy.

[redhedcatie-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this aloud to my girls and we all loved it! A great book with so many great lessons. :) Much better than the movie. Like usual. ;)

[jacobdecker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love to read the stories as they are written not as Disney has envisioned them. Pinocchio had no real conscious, he killed the cricket with a hammer... I love literature but hate to see what mainstream media has done to it.

[pussreboots · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've read the Collodi novel once before when I was a teenager and I remember being put off by both by Pinocchio's arrogance and the surrealism of the world in which the marionette lives. Were it not for Roberto Innocenti's gorgeous illustrations I would have set Collodi's story aside without finishing it.Like so many of the classics from the late 1800s, Pinocchio was serialized in Il Giornale dei Bambini (Children's Journal), starting in 1880. Each installment was a short allegory to teach children how to be independent thinkers (Wiki). Keeping in mind the method of publication and the reason behind it helps to put the disjointed nature of the chapters and the surreal world into perspective. Innocenti's illustrations then bring this world to life.

[matthewbloome · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

On the whole, this has to be the least satisfying classic I've read over the past couple of months. I genuinely disliked nearly every character in the book, with special emphasis on Pinocchio. I was rooting for the fireplace rather than the real boy angle.

[auntieknickers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book is better than the Disney movie -- which was still a good movie. I've also seen a wonderful theatrical production at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. Another one I ought to reread.

[gold_gato-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Greg Hildebrandt's tremendous illustrations accompany this edition of the children's classic, and the art brings the wooden boy to life on its own. There are twenty-one full color paintings with colors that simply dash out at you. This volume is the Little Unicorn edition, which means the original story is abridged so the illustrations can take center stage. Simply wonderful. This book begs for a cold cloudless night and a hot steaming mug of hot cocoa.

Sized for small hands

Book Season = Winter

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I even meant to download the ebook for Pinocchio -- it's not something I had on my mental list of books I intended to read. I don't know who translated the version I read, but it was easy enough to read. It reads like quite a light story, but Pinocchio isn't a terribly nice character. He's, well. A boy. A little boy, selfish and without much of a moral compass to call his own. I couldn't really root for him, to be honest, and his moments of compassion and caring for other people seemed just that... moments. I guess he reminded me of Peter Pan a little, in his selfishness and his boyishness. I can imagine a little boy really being somewhat like Pinocchio, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. If the book had been longer or less lightly written, I daresay I wouldn't have liked it at all.

I was glad for the lack of constant overt moralising, like Jiminy in the Disney adaptation. There is a little, of course, but it doesn't really seem to sink into Pinocchio's head... the ending is a little saccharine-sweet, with Gepetto being made young again and Pinocchio turning into a real boy through reforming and so on, but it isn't too irritating.

It was enjoyable as a quick read, as a break from doing essays, and I wonder if I'd have liked it more if I'd read it as a kid, but it didn't really arouse strong feelings either way.

[barb_h_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read the ebook version from the library. This story was so cute and so well written. It reminded me of my childhood when I'd watch the movie and listen to my little record of the soundtrack. It has such a good moral lesson too.

[stbalbach_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pinocchio! (said with an Italian accent and lots of hand waiving). It is considered a "novel of education", a fun childrens story with values communicated through allegory. The values are very "middle class" as Italy became a nation-state in the 19th century: do not follow schemes of the fox and cat to get rich (ie. thieving upper class) but instead work honestly for your money; get an education so you are not treated like an ass (mule working class). Like the "Decameron", it follows the Florentine, Italy tradition of folk novella's -- like a hybred of the "Decameron", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Mother Goose". Disney made a film in 1940 that is considered a masterpiece of animation and is part of the National Film Registery, although only loosely based on the novel, the image of "Jiminy Cricket" and "Blue Fairy" are now a part of modern mythology.

[jfoster_sf · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was extremely disappointed with this book. This is a book written with the sole purpose of scaring naughty boys and girls into behaving. There was a lot of violence for no reason--the opening scene has two grown men disagreeing about something and solving it by getting into a fistfight (twice in the same conversation!). Even disregarding the fighting, this book held no interest for me whatsoever.

[salenawolfgoddess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's about Pinocchio's life from when he was carved to when he becomes a real boy. However, this disobedient little puppet goes from misfortune to misfortune as he must decide between things like school and a puppet show and school and Playland. He is also hung from a tree, swallowed by a giant shark, robbed and chased by assassins. Thanks to help from his father and his friend the fairy he mends his ways and his dream comes true.Even though I grew up with the Disney movie version of Pinocchio I quite liked this novel version because the storyline is a little different and it gives a little more depth to Pinocchio's character. All in all a cute, rewarding story.

[kakkerman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little inaccessible for children. I think it has become a children's story over the years, rather than a moral tale for adults.

[smiler69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I borrowed this one from the library to have a look at Roberto Innocenti's work, which I've admired in another book called Rose Blanche. His highly detailed watercolour illustrations are a thing to behold, and imbued with both a sense of realism and real poetry, a combination very rarely achieved successfully in visual arts. The story itself was filled with surprises. I must have only been exposed to the Disney version in my childhood, because the original by Carlo Collodi was so filled with twist and turns, violence, unfortunate adventures, and reversals of fate, that it stretched credulity beyond the limit. At times the didactic aspect of the story that the author never fails to drive home became truly annoying, but there's no denying the tale of a puppet who wished more than anything to become a boy is highly original.

[jasonlf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, if a little repetitive. It's hard to read it through anything other than the Disney version, but it is reasonably different--including a Pinocchio who is meaner and more problem ridden (e.g., within the first few pages he hits the cricket with a hammer), a cat/wolf that are more persistent and interesting than the Disney ones, and an even more moving ending about how Pinocchio finally becomes a boy.

[josh_hanagarne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

demented, wonderful, awesome art. Pinocchio is not the story that Disney told you. Chapter titles like "Pinocchio" gets hanged abound.

[aangela1010_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What a bratty whiner. I might be glad to have read it. But right now I'm just disappointed that Pinocchio was such a whiner.

[prop2gether · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

New version of a classic tale: I enjoyed the rereading of this story as much as my first reading as a child. Pinocchio is such a typical "bratty" little boy until he has his adventures, that it is a delight when he gets his wish to be a real boy.

[janeajones · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The NYRB's translation of Collodi's Pinocchio by Geoffrey Brock is wonderfully readable. Had it a few more illustrations, it would be a great gift for an elementary -- middle-school child or even better, a book to read to one. As most Americans, I knew Pinocchio from Disney's film, and the book is not nearly as distant from Disney as I thought it might be. Certainly, the adventures have been somewhat modified, and Disney's Pinocchio is more childlike than Collodi's scampish puppet, but both reveal the dark dangers of the world and the belief that a good heart will ultimately reveal humanity. Both Eco and West make much of the difference between Collodi's fairy with sky blue hair and Disney's blue fairy -- claiming that the former is far mysterious and representative of multiple aspects of the feminine -- I didn't find the gap between the two so wide. The book was originally published in serial episodes, and each adventure could easily be read as a bedtime story. For an adolescent or adult reader who has never read the original, this is a first-rate translation. It's a first-rate translation for children too, but it would be so much better with either the original illustrations or ones done particularly for this translation.Brock's translation is contemporary and humorous, as is Eco's preface. On the other hand, the afterword commentary by Rebecca West is somewhat clunky if informative. She basically summarizes the prevailing critical views of the book and discourses rather lengthily on the changes Disney made to the tale.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great translation of a wonderful story that is as bleak as it is amazing! Who says fairy tales cannot be brutal? Grimm right...

[thewallflower-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is book is awesome. In the first 13 pages, Gepetto gets into a fist fight, Pinocchio gets Gepetto sent to prison, then he kills Jiminy Cricket with a hammer. This is great!As you can tell this book is far removed from the Disney version. Everybody's a jerk. Must be an Italian thing. I'm not sure who this book was audienced to -- little boys maybe? -- but the language still holds up. The culture does not. It's super easy to read, but the plot is not terribly coherent, and there's no unifying force. It seems like 65% of the book is just Pinocchio being bad, then, when he realizes he's about to get burnt or hanged or shot, he suddenly cries, "oh no, I'll never be bad again", and he is saved. Then he goes and does it again. Reminds me of the American prison system. Must be required reading for lawyers. The storytelling is terribly unpolished and jagged. There's no unifying story, just Pinocchio running around getting into trouble. After about halfway, it starts getting obnoxious, because he has no real goal. He has nothing he wants.I'm really on the fence about the value of this book in terms of today. Would I recommend it for anyone? Would they get anything out of it? Maybe, since the chapters are short and the characters dynamic, they'd get more out of it than I did.