The Adventures of Pinocchio (Amazon Classics Edition) by Carlo Collodi
Narrator: Simon Vance
Published by Brilliance Audio
Publication Date December 22, 2017
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Once upon a time, there was a talking, walking, dancing piece of wood. His name was Pinocchio, the marionette created from an enchanted log by Tuscan woodcarver Geppetto.
The miraculous puppet dreams of being a real boy, but he has a mischievous streak. Pinocchio fights, kicks, lies, and runs away before Geppetto can teach him the lessons of life.
Challenged by an escalating series of misadventures, Pinocchio must learn to be selfless, respectful, and honest in order to fulfill his wishes and lose his strings. A childhood favorite, Pinocchio endures as a rite of passage and illustrates the difficulties of growing up, staying true to oneself, and being kind to others.
Pinocchio was a dick. There, I said it. If you grew up with the Disney version, the original will be a shock to the system.
In chapter four Pinocchio crushes Jiminy Cricket with a hammer soley because Jiminy was giving him advice in morality. He repeatedly runs away from responsibility, he was “caught” with his captor attempting to lynch him for his gold coins. Unfortunately, he lived for redemption and became a real boy. Throughout the book I kept me shaking my head. Poor Gepetto, you were swallowed by a fish for that?
While reading Pinocchio, I was reminded of another children’s’ book of morals, Struwwelpeter. Struwwelpeter is Mrs. Piggle Wiggle on crack. A child plays with matches, they burn to death, refusing to finish one’s dinner results in starvation, suck your thumb and you’ll get your finger cut off. Those were some real consequences.
Sadly, the moral of Pinocchio is, even if you’re an asshole if you say you’re sorry you can still get what you want. Yeah, that makes sense…
Supposedly, the book was meant to end with Pinocchio being hung and being robbed of his gold. A true “don’t misbehave or else” ending. However, that was probably a bit too gruesome and we ended up with a real-life boy. It was an interesting story and I’m glad to have read it. Although, I don’t see my annoyance for this wooden puppet going away anytime soon.
I think I need to read this after taking in your review. Had no idea how far the Disney version had steered from the original! I’m sure Struwwelpeter scarred many children while keeping them in line.
The original Pinocchio is much more in line with a Grimm’s fairy tale. I can also attest to your comment on Struwwelpeter.