Dino Buzzati Books

'Undoubtedly a masterpiece, a sublime book' Sunday TimesA dark and beautiful tale full of pain and longing, introduced by Tim Parks

A wonderful story for children and an allegory for adults about the absurdity of war, presented here with an introduction and guide to the text by Lemony Snicket. Starving after a harsh winter, the bears descend from the mountains in search of food and invade the valley below, where they face fierce opposition from the army of the Grand Duke of Sicily. After many battles, scrapes and dangers, the bears' reign is established over the land, but their victory comes at a price.

Accomplished in his career but unaccomplished in love, a middle-aged architect is torn apart by his obsession with an enigmatic young woman in this delicately told story of desire and abjection by a titan of Italian literature. Antonio Dorigo is a successful architect in Milan, nearing fifty, who has always been afraid of women. A regular at an upscale brothel for years, he mourns the lack of close female companionship in his life. One afternoon, the madam at the brothel introduces Tonio to “a new girl,” Laide. Tonio sees nothing especially remarkable about her, though it intrigues him that she dances at La Scala and also at a strip club, and yet in a very short time he becomes completely obsessed with her. Laide leads Antonio on, confounds him, uses and humiliates him, treats him tenderly from time to time, lies to him, makes no apologies to him, and he loves her ever more. This helpless and hopeless love, he feels, is what he is, even as it prevents him from ever seeing Laide for who she is. Because Who is she? is the question at the heart of Buzzati’s clear-eyed and darkly comic tale of infatuation. Is A Love Affair a love story or is it a story of anything but love? Buzzati’s novel, with its psychological subtleties, vivid cityscapes, unsettling comedy, and compassion, keeps the reader guessing till the end.

This collection is a companion to the long-established and highly successful Modern Short Stories One and its essential aims are the same: to offer stories of high literary quality which, though written for adults, can be enjoyed and appreciated by adolescents. The fifteen stories included are by distinguished writers from Africa, America, Australia, India, Ireland, Italy and Great Britain; and within their artistic context several of them deal with the special personal and social concerns of society today.The collection includes stories by the likes of Dorothy Parker, Maeve Binchy, Garrison Keillor, Peter Carey, Flannery O'Connor and Nadine Gordimer.

Fusing elements of fantasy with social commentary, this anthology showcases the work of Dino Buzzati, an Italian master of short stories. Spanning four decades, it reflects the political and social turmoil of the twentieth century through imaginative tales that address global horrors and Italian issues alike. With a blend of humor, tragedy, and surrealism, Buzzati's stories, including classics and previously untranslated pieces, challenge ideological norms while creating unsettling yet plausible realities. Lawrence Venuti’s translations capture the essence of Buzzati's unique storytelling style.

Zweisprachig: Italienisch & Deutsch bilingue: italiano & tedesco

Als ich heute auf dem schrecklichen Anstieg des Col d’Izoard Bartali sah, wie er ganz allein zornig vor sich hin trat, schlammbedeckt, die Mundwinkel nach unten gezogen in seelischem und körperlichem Schmerz - und Coppi war schon seit einer Weile durch, er kletterte bereits die letzten Steilstücke des Passes hoch -, da stieg in mir ein in dreißig Jahren nie vergessenes Gefühl auf. Vor dreißig Jahren, das war, als ich erfuhr, dass Hektor von Achill getötet worden war. So erzählt der berühmte italienische Schriftsteller Dino Buzzati, der im Mai und Juni 1949 den 32. Giro d’Italia im Auftrag des Corriere della Sera begleitete, von der epischen Rivalität zwischen den beiden großen Radsportlern Gino Bartali und Fausto Coppi. Die Szene verdeutlicht, wie die 25 miteinander verbundenen Texte dieses Bandes fast eher als Erzählung gelesen werden können denn als Bericht. Der Erzähler Buzzati steckt den Journalisten in die Tasche, seine Wahrnehmung verschränkt sich immer enger mit der Phantasie, seine Beschreibungen gerinnen zur zaubermächtigen existenziellen Metapher. Dino Buzzati beim Giro d’Italia, das ist: Großer Sport. Zauberhafte Literatur. Ein bedeutendes Dokument der Zeitgeschichte, das nun - endlich - auch in einer deutschen Übersetzung vorliegt.

Svolgimenti inattesi e finali imprevedibili, sorprese e invenzioni fantastiche in una narrazione pervasa di simboli e allegorie che trasformano vicende apparentemente minimali in rappresentazioni dell'universale condizione umana. L'arte di Dino Buzzati, spesso avvicinata a quella di Hoffmann, Poe e soprattutto Kafka, rappresenta una trasfigurazione potente e vigorosa della realtà e dell'angoscia dell'uomo, sublimata in atmosfere di suggestione metafisica. Come autore di racconti, Buzzati è un maestro tra i più cari al pubblico dei lettori. Con le sue trame fantasiose, le sue immersioni nei misteri della vita quotidiana e i suoi personaggi così strani eppure così veri, Dino Buzzati consegue sempre, racconto dopo racconto, quello che è il suo scopo dichiarato: "divertire e commuovere" il lettore, distoglierlo cioè dai pensieri di sempre attirandolo nel suo mondo incantato per coinvolgerlo emotivamente, sorprenderlo e anche spaventarlo.

Im Norden Italiens liegt der alte Wald. Hier, in einem kleinen, abgelegenen Tal, wachsen die ältesten Tannen der Welt. Seit vielen Generationen ist kein einziger Baum gefällt worden. Ist es wohl eines der letzten Paradiese oder stimmt es, was die Einheimischen munkeln, daß nämlich der alte Wald ein Geheimnis hütet?