About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherPenguin Publishing Group

ISBN-100143106740

ISBN-139780143106746

eBay Product ID (ePID)150566300

Product Key Features

Original LanguageItalian

Book TitlePleasure

Number of Pages320 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2013

TopicClassics, General

GenreFiction

AuthorGabriele D'annunzio

FormatUk-B Format Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight10.7 Oz

Item Length7.7 in

Item Width5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2013-006549

Reviews" A fascinating psychological novel about the mind of a seducer . . . Lara Gochin Raffaelli has performed a real service by restoring Pleasure to an English-speaking public, or rather giving it to us, in effect, for the first time. . . . In the wake of Pleasure 's spectacular and scandalous success, [Andrea] Sperelli became for an entire generation a type that many chose to imitate-as Goethe's Werther was for readers of the Romantic era, or Jay Gatsby for the Jazz Age." - Alexander Stille , from the Introduction "[A] superb new translation . . . The writing sparkles. . . . Raffaelli preserves the florid musicality of D'Annunzio's original Italian, its muscular rhythm, and the precious constructions that can make Italian seem like a foreign language in his hands. She also provides a wealth of helpful notes, crucial for entering into D'Annunzio's museum-like imagination. . . . So much contemporary writing gives us sex without sensuality; D'Annunzio revels in a finer erotic touch. . . . The real events in D'Annunzio's life were too noisy to ignore, but they shouldn't drown out the voice of his writing. . . . A close reading reveals an astonishing streak of literary innovation." - The Times Literary Supplement "Shockingly explicit . . . a kind of portrait of the artist as an irresistible, corrupt young aesthete . . . [It] has now been lushly translated in an uncensored version." - Jonathan Galassi, The New Republic " Pleasure is truly a pleasure, and its potency is its own. D'Annunzio's . . . methods and vision are strikingly original, and this novel confidently announces itself not just as a mere echo or harbinger, but as a fully fledged advent of its own. . . . With this new translation, the influence on the subsequent century's literature is now shockingly apparent. Both Marcel Proust and James Joyce were great admirers of D'Annunzio's work, and the influence especially on Proust's In Search of Lost Time makes itself retrospectively evident on nearly every page. . . . Raffaelli's new translation of Pleasure will perhaps singlehandedly resuscitate D'Annunzio as a world writer and place this glimmering first novel in its key spot among Europe's great works of Decadent literature." - Rain Taxi -- Alexander Stille, " A fascinating psychological novel about the mind of a seducer . . . Lara Gochin Raffaelli has performed a real service by restoring Pleasure to an English-speaking public, or rather giving it to us, in effect, for the first time. . . . In the wake of Pleasure 's spectacular and scandalous success, [Andrea] Sperelli became for an entire generation a type that many chose to imitate-as Goethe's Werther was for readers of the Romantic era, or Jay Gatsby for the Jazz Age." - Alexander Stille , from the Introduction " Pleasure is truly a pleasure, and its potency is its own. D'Annunzio's . . . methods and vision are strikingly original, and this novel confidently announces itself not just as a mere echo or harbinger, but as a fully fledged advent of its own. . . . With this new translation, the influence on the subsequent century's literature is now shockingly apparent. Both Marcel Proust and James Joyce were great admirers of D'Annunzio's work, and the influence especially on Proust's In Search of Lost Time makes itself retrospectively evident on nearly every page. . . . Raffaelli's new translation of Pleasure will perhaps singlehandedly resuscitate D'Annunzio as a world writer and place this glimmering first novel in its key spot among Europe's great works of Decadent literature." - Rain Taxi, " A fascinating psychological novel about the mind of a seducer . . . Lara Gochin Raffaelli has performed a real service by restoring Pleasure to an English-speaking public, or rather giving it to us, in effect, for the first time. . . . In the wake of Pleasure 's spectacular and scandalous success, [Andrea] Sperelli became for an entire generation a type that many chose to imitate--as Goethe's Werther was for readers of the Romantic era, or Jay Gatsby for the Jazz Age." -- Alexander Stille , from the Introduction "[A] superb new translation . . . The writing sparkles. . . . Raffaelli preserves the florid musicality of D'Annunzio's original Italian, its muscular rhythm, and the precious constructions that can make Italian seem like a foreign language in his hands. She also provides a wealth of helpful notes, crucial for entering into D'Annunzio's museum-like imagination. . . . So much contemporary writing gives us sex without sensuality; D'Annunzio revels in a finer erotic touch. . . . The real events in D'Annunzio's life were too noisy to ignore, but they shouldn't drown out the voice of his writing. . . . A close reading reveals an astonishing streak of literary innovation." -- The Times Literary Supplement "Shockingly explicit . . . a kind of portrait of the artist as an irresistible, corrupt young aesthete . . . [It] has now been lushly translated in an uncensored version." -- Jonathan Galassi, The New Republic " Pleasure is truly a pleasure, and its potency is its own. D'Annunzio's . . . methods and vision are strikingly original, and this novel confidently announces itself not just as a mere echo or harbinger, but as a fully fledged advent of its own. . . . With this new translation, the influence on the subsequent century's literature is now shockingly apparent. Both Marcel Proust and James Joyce were great admirers of D'Annunzio's work, and the influence especially on Proust's In Search of Lost Time makes itself retrospectively evident on nearly every page. . . . Raffaelli's new translation of Pleasure will perhaps singlehandedly resuscitate D'Annunzio as a world writer and place this glimmering first novel in its key spot among Europe's great works of Decadent literature." -- Rain Taxi -- Alexander Stille, " A fascinating psychological novel about the mind of a seducer . . . Lara Gochin Raffaelli has performed a real service by restoring Pleasure to an English-speaking public, or rather giving it to us, in effect, for the first time. . . . In the wake of Pleasure 's spectacular and scandalous success, [Andrea] Sperelli became for an entire generation a type that many chose to imitate-as Goethe's Werther was for readers of the Romantic era, or Jay Gatsby for the Jazz Age." - Alexander Stille , from the Introduction, " A fascinating psychological novel about the mind of a seducer . . . Lara Gochin Raffaelli has performed a real service by restoring Pleasure to an English-speaking public, or rather giving it to us, in effect, for the first time. . . . In the wake of Pleasure 's spectacular and scandalous success, [Andrea] Sperelli became for an entire generation a type that many chose to imitate-as Goethe's Werther was for readers of the Romantic era, or Jay Gatsby for the Jazz Age." - Alexander Stille , from the Introduction "[A] superb new translation . . . The writing sparkles. . . . Raffaelli preserves the florid musicality of D'Annunzio's original Italian, its muscular rhythm, and the precious constructions that can make Italian seem like a foreign language in his hands. She also provides a wealth of helpful notes, crucial for entering into D'Annunzio's museum-like imagination. . . . So much contemporary writing gives us sex without sensuality; D'Annunzio revels in a finer erotic touch. . . . The real events in D'Annunzio's life were too noisy to ignore, but they shouldn't drown out the voice of his writing. . . . A close reading reveals an astonishing streak of literary innovation." - The Times Literary Supplement "Shockingly explicit . . . a kind of portrait of the artist as an irresistible, corrupt young aesthete . . . [It] has now been lushly translated in an uncensored version." - Jonathan Galassi, The New Republic " Pleasure is truly a pleasure, and its potency is its own. D'Annunzio's . . . methods and vision are strikingly original, and this novel confidently announces itself not just as a mere echo or harbinger, but as a fully fledged advent of its own. . . . With this new translation, the influence on the subsequent century's literature is now shockingly apparent. Both Marcel Proust and James Joyce were great admirers of D'Annunzio's work, and the influence especially on Proust's In Search of Lost Time makes itself retrospectively evident on nearly every page. . . . Raffaelli's new translation of Pleasure will perhaps singlehandedly resuscitate D'Annunzio as a world writer and place this glimmering first novel in its key spot among Europe's great works of Decadent literature." - Rain Taxi, " A fascinating psychological novel about the mind of a seducer . . . Lara Gochin Raffaelli has performed a real service by restoring Pleasure to an English-speaking public, or rather giving it to us, in effect, for the first time. . . . In the wake of Pleasure 's spectacular and scandalous success, [Andrea] Sperelli became for an entire generation a type that many chose to imitate-as Goethe's Werther was for readers of the Romantic era, or Jay Gatsby for the Jazz Age." - Alexander Stille , from the Introduction "[A] superb new translation . . . The writing sparkles. . . . Raffaelli preserves the florid musicality of D'Annunzio's original Italian, its muscular rhythm, and the precious constructions that can make Italian seem like a foreign language in his hands. She also provides a wealth of helpful notes, crucial for entering into D'Annunzio's museum-like imagination. . . . So much contemporary writing gives us sex without sensuality; D'Annunzio revels in a finer erotic touch. . . . The real events in D'Annunzio's life were too noisy to ignore, but they shouldn't drown out the voice of his writing. . . . A close reading reveals an astonishing streak of literary innovation." - The Times Literary Supplement " Pleasure is truly a pleasure, and its potency is its own. D'Annunzio's . . . methods and vision are strikingly original, and this novel confidently announces itself not just as a mere echo or harbinger, but as a fully fledged advent of its own. . . . With this new translation, the influence on the subsequent century's literature is now shockingly apparent. Both Marcel Proust and James Joyce were great admirers of D'Annunzio's work, and the influence especially on Proust's In Search of Lost Time makes itself retrospectively evident on nearly every page. . . . Raffaelli's new translation of Pleasure will perhaps singlehandedly resuscitate D'Annunzio as a world writer and place this glimmering first novel in its key spot among Europe's great works of Decadent literature." - Rain Taxi

Notes byRaffaelli, Lara Gochin

Dewey Edition23

Grade FromTwelfth Grade

Dewey Decimal853.912

SynopsisThe great Italian masterpiece of sensuality and seduction, published in a new English translation - the first since the Victorian era - that puts the sex back in Pleasure. Like Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, Andrea Sperelli lives his life as a work of art, seeking beauty and flouting the rules of morality and social interaction along the way. In his aristocratic circles in Rome, he is a serial seducer. But there are two women who command his special regard: the beautiful young widow Elena, and the pure, virgin-like Maria. In Andrea's pursuit of the exalted heights of extreme pleasure, he plays them against each other, spinning a sadistic web of lust and deceit. Gabriele D'Annunzio was born in Italy in 1863. He published poetry and short stories from a young age, quickly gaining a reputation for his frank treatment of erotic subjects. He married in 1883 and had three children, but separated from his wife and began an infamous affair with the actress Elonora Duse. After stints as a journalist and politician, he enlisted as a fighter pilot in World War I, subsequently losing an eye in a flying accident. He became increasingly nationalistic and politically active after the war, and his views had a strong influence on Mussolini. In 1922 he survived a murder attempt, when an unknown assailant defenestrated him. He died in 1938. Lara Gochin Raffaelli is a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Alexander Stille is a frequent contributor on Italy to The New York Review of Books , The New York Times , and The New Yorker and the author of several books, including The Sack of Rome. He lives in New York., Putting the sex back in Pleasure, here is the first new English translation since the Victorian era of the great Italian masterpiece of sensuality and seduction Like Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, Andrea Sperelli lives his life as a work of art, seeking beauty and flouting the rules of morality and social interaction along the way. In his aristocratic circles in Rome, he is a serial seducer. But there are two women who command his special regard: the beautiful young widow Elena, and the pure, virgin-like Maria. In Andrea's pursuit of the exalted heights of extreme pleasure, he plays them against each other, spinning a sadistic web of lust and deceit. This new translation of D'Annunzio's masterpiece, the first in more than one hundred years, restores what was considered too offensive to be included in the 1898 translation--some of the very scenes that are key to the novel's status as a landmark of literary decadence. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

LC Classification NumberPQ4803.P513 2013

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Pleasure by Gabriele D'Annunzio (2013, Uk-B Format Paperback)

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