The Adventures of Pinocchio

“A zingy new translation.” ―The Economist“Perfectly timed. The translators … do justice to the story with their insightful annotations and cogent introduction… . Who can’t love a story as wildly inventive as [this]? Children certainly love it—and have so for nearly 150 years. But Pinocchio can also grab the interest of any adult willing to engage with the story’s rich tapestry of symbolism, archetypes, and layers of meaning. … Should you find yourself watching all or none of the recent and upcoming film adaptations of Pinocchio, this new translation from Penguin Classics is a terrific way to get reacquainted with one of the world’s most popular and important stories.” ―PopMatters“Very lively … A fine translation in many ways, and I love the way it brings out the Italianness, and I do like the punch of it. It’s great.” ―Ann Hallamore Caesar, The TLS Podcast“A complex, unsettling novel—miles away from the morality tale that Pinocchio’s story has become … Pinocchio harbors a strain of systemic injustice and deep betrayal. … Imbued with social criticism and pessimistic humor, [it] can be read, among other things, as an irreverent attack on established authority… . As the translators John Hooper and Anna Kraczyna note in a recent critical edition published by Penguin, it’s no coincidence that the utterance ‘Pazienza!’ occurs 15 times throughout the novel… . It’s a quintessentially Italian admission of defeat … that, as Hooper and Kraczyna note, ‘echoes centuries of unwilling yet unavoidable resignation.’ ” —The Atlantic“An effort to reclaim the spirit of the original, particularly as something distinct from the animated Disney cartoon that most are familiar with … Their goal … is not dissimilar to that of Matteo Garrone in his wonderfully dark film adaptation: to demonstrate, once again, that Pinocchio is far more than just a children’s story.” ―The Week in Italy

Carlo Collodi (1826-1890) was the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini, an Italian author, journalist, translator, critic, and satirist from Florence who took part in Italy’s struggle for independence and died too soon to witness the international success of his masterpiece, The Adventures of Pinocchio, which is laced with wry comments on Italian society, some as relevant today as they were in the late nineteenth century.

John Hooper (translator) is Italy and Vatican correspondent and the author of the bestseller The Italians. He has reported from Italy for more than twenty years and is a lecturer at the Florence campus of Stanford University.

Anna Kraczyna (translator) is a native of Florence, the daughter of American artists who moved to Italy. She has taught at the Florence campuses of Stanford University and Sarah Lawrence College, and divides her time among translating, interpreting, and lecturing at American universities in her native city on the language, literature, and society of Italy.