Rome Tales

by Helen Constantine, Hugh Shankland

In ways no guide book can achieve, these twenty absorbing tales by Italian authors ranging from Boccaccio in the Middle Ages to Giacomo Casanova in the eighteenth century, to Pier-Paolo Pasolini in the twentieth and contemporary new writers such as Melania Mazzucco and Igiaba Scego, offer the delight of discovering and exploring one of the world's most unique cities thorough a wide variety of individual lives and epochs. The tales span seven hundred years but ratherthan being ordered chronologically, old and new appear alongside one another, reflecting the dual identity of Rome - thriving, modern metropolis and ancient city centre that is one of the wonders of the world. The tales are wonderfully varied in style, tone, and subject matter. Casanova sets aboutseducing the hotelier's daughter only minutes after his arrival, a notorious Spanish prostitute in Renaissance Rome endures a public hiding without flinching, a Danish tourist in her sixties finds an unusual lover, Pope John Paul II uncovers a vast conspiracy against him, a medieval revolutionary demagogue suffers almost the same fate as Mussolini.Each story is illustrated with a black-and-white photograph and there is a map of Rome to help readers locate the important sites which feature in the text. A deep sense of timelessness, of separate destinies entwined across a gulf of centuries, is the cumulative effect of this vivid mosaic of dramatic, comic, and tragic stories set in the Eternal City.

Genres: Italy, Short Stories, Travel, Fiction

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

Helen Constantine read French and Latin at Oxford. She was Head of Languages at Bartholomew School, Eynsham, until 2000, when she gave up teaching and became a full-time translator. She has published volumes of translated stories, Paris Tales, and French Tales and edits a series of City Tales for Oxford University Press. Paris Metro Tales will be published in March 2011. She has translated Mademoiselle de Maupinby Théophile Gautier and Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos for Penguin and is currently translating Balzac’s La Peau de Chagrin for OUP. She is married to the poet, David Constantine and with him edits Modern Poetry in Translation.

(from http://www.mptmagazine.com/author/hel...)

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rome Tales is a collection of short stories that spans centuries, cultures, classes, and genres. The one uniting theme is the city itself, and I wonder whether I would have enjoyed it if not for the fact that I read it during my year in Rome. The range of stories comes with a range of appeal for each reader. I read it without referencing the footnotes or author bios, meaning that each story put me into a new year with a new character forcing me to get my bearings before enjoying the story. Some days, this was perfect, and other days distracting. The book would lead me to hunt down referenced churches or bridges, or to learn more about figures such as Cola di Rienzo. Others, such as Via Veneto Notes, The Shirt on the Wall, and Romulus and Remus added a rich layer to this foreigner's understanding of the city. Some - namely Samia and The Small Hours affected the way I saw Romans - both newly arrived and generations deep. Of course, you can't read 16 October 1943 and think of the tourist charm of the Ghetto in the same way. In a city where history is marked by famous men, I was touched by Two Days to Christmas and The Girl with the Braid. Rome Tales are just that - meant to stay on a book shelf and plucked off for the occasional story chosen by random. The sum of its parts are up to the reader to appreciate, but I would preferred to follow a handful of the characters more, and left some of the stories alone.

[in8 · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part these stories were boring & mainstream, except maybe the ones by Corrado Alvaro, Pier Pasolini, Igiaba Scego & Alberto Moravia.

[Martha Lluch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could barely go through the stories... I thought it was a nice idea to read while in Rome... But two months after I still havent finished it or plan to do so.

[Emily Monaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

In keeping with a habit I have of always reading a book set in/about a destination I'm traveling to, this book came with me on a recent trip to Rome. I've only started reading short story anthologies very recently, and I like the experience, even though by its very design, an anthology can provide some stories I enjoy more than others. Most of all, I loved the format of this anthology, which sees stories from different areas and indeed different time periods arranged higgledy-piggledy, evoking, in their organized chaos, the very city they depict. Standouts for me included Via Veneto Notes, which recounts the early years of devising La dolce vita, as well as Lorette Ellerup. And if almost only for its depiction of la cucina povera, I fell hard for Romulus and Remus.

[Carmen von Rohr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this collection of short stories all set in Rome - different authors, different eras - was a delight. Sometimes moving, sometimes strange, the stories provide a diverse lens on what it is to be Rome, and Roman. Few of the writers featured have been translated into English (or much translated), so this collection was also a real eye-opener to how language not only expands and gives our worlds meaning, but also narrows and circumscribes them. I am missing out on so many stories, thoughts, ways of being, by virtue of being limited to my mother tongue!

[Tara Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great collection of short stories. An interesting mix of styles and time periods. Some were of course better than others but each author created a unique picture of Rome. Some personal favourites were:

The Shirt on the Wall by Erri De Luca
Blue Car by Melania Mazzucco
Two Days to Christmas by Elisabetta Rasy
Isabella De Luna by Matteo Bandello
The Rubber Twins by Vincenzo Cerami
The Beautiful Hand by Giorgio Vigolo
The Girl with the Braid by Dacia Maraini
Exmatriates - Igiaba Scego
The Small Hours by Corrado Alvaro

[Sujataan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely introduction to Rome. Beautiful variety of tales.

I found the first few stories a bit difficult to read because of the quality of the translation but suddenly the translation seemed to improve after the first few tales, unless maybe I just became used to the writing style! So stick with the book if you also find the first few stories a bit difficult to read. I read this book before, during and after a short break in Rome.

[Meade · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all collections, some were great and some just ok. Started reading this in Rome, which was fun. Each story has a black and white photo with it that aligns with the story in some way, and the editor strung the stories together with a hint of a connection as well (not chronologically). Was interesting to put the pieces together.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a group of translated tales of Rome by Italians -- some short stories, some pieces of longer books, some very old, some modern, all set in Rome. I enjoyed it as a whole very much, of course appreciating some more than others, and liked the ease with which I could pick it up and put it down again, so I read it off and on for almost a month.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection that provides readers with glimpses of Rome's many faces and long history. Writings and short stories from medieval to modern, charming to surreal...predatory to insufferable. A great read for lovers of history, literature, and Rome.

[Sirin Nabokov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of known, distinguished and not so known Italian writers doing short stories set in and about Rome. Very, very good.

[Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some very interesting short stories in this collection from multiple centuries, but as a whole it was a bit uneven in character.

[Donna Callejon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating mix of stories based in Rome.