- Paperback: 90 pages
- Publisher: Italica Press (December 2009)
- Language: Italian
- ISBN-10: 0934977232
- ISBN-13: 978-0934977234
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 21.6 x 0.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 141 g
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #857,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
"The Fat Woodworker" is a delightful story in the tradition of the Italian Renaissance "beffe," stories of practical, often cruel jokes. It is the tale of a prank engineered by the great Renaissance architect, Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), played upon an unsuspecting (and perhaps less-than-brilliant) friend and woodworker named Manetto, in reprisal for the woodworker's social slight. While the prank is indeed cruel, it is so ingenious, and the victim is so comical, that the reader soon forgets the architect's - and the author's - malice and settles in for a delightful turn as part of the unfolding conspiracy set in motion by Brunelleschi's circle of friends. The tale brings the reader into the social world of Florence's craft- and tradespeople, its lawyers and judges, artists, architects and intellectuals and gives a vibrant sense of the city's close-knit social fabric, its packed streets and busy shops and offices. It is as much a portrait of the Renaissance city as of one very befuddled and delightful woodworker. Robert and Valerie Martone provide a solid contemporary translation that carries across the ironic distance of the original. They include an introduction to the story, its author and genre, and to the social and intellectual world of Brunelleschi and Renaissance Florence. Illustrated, introduction, bibliography. Fiction
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Important story; bad translation,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Fat Woodworker (Paperback)
Caution: Although this tale of the Fat Woodcarver and the great Florentine architect, Filippo Brunelleschi, is among the most important by any Renaissance author, this translation leaves a lot to be desired. It is often misleading and sometimes downright wrong.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
2.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting.,
By M. O'Neill "left coast randonneur" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Fat Woodworker (Paperback)
A nice little insight into some of the questions that people had about life during the High Renaissance in Florence, Italy. Nice for history students who want to see into the minds of people of the time. Language is easy and the story is enjoyable.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing, but not earthshaking,
By lnbel - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Fat Woodworker (Paperback)
*The Fat Woodworker* is an amusing tale. I wasn't struck by a terrible picture of annihilation or by Brunelleschi's genius, but perhaps that is because I'm used to the storyline of "character wakes up and finds he is someone else". Most other readers of a decent range of literature will probably react the same way (Kafka's "Metamorphisis" anyone?). Manetti's idea may have been quite original and terrifying as the first story in a genre, but we've surpassed it in sophistication.That said, it is a reasonably provocative tale. I read the book as part of a series of readings in Florentine Renaissance culture, and insofar as this fiction may illustrate the characters of Brunelleschi, it's interesting. 2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Important story; bad translation,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Fat Woodworker (Paperback)
Caution: Although this tale of the Fat Woodcarver and the great Florentine architect, Filippo Brunelleschi, is among the most important by any Renaissance author, this translation leaves a lot to be desired. It is often misleading and sometimes downright wrong.
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