The Liar: A Comedy

by Carlo Goldoni, B.K. de Fabris (Editor)

A Comedy - (12m, 4f) "The story centers on Lelio, a young Venetian incapable of telling the truth. As Lelio spins one "witty inventions" after another, complications multiply. Before long, Lelio has thrown the budding romances of two young sisters into turmoil, discredited their rightful suitors, deceived his own befuddled father, and created an impossible tangle of misunderstandings. Written in 1750, The Liar is lively and stylish comedy at its finest!" "Goldoni's ingenuity is to makes us feel seduced by Lelio's concoctions, then able to laugh at the traps Lelio sets for himself."

Genres: Theatre, Classics

74 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1753

About the author

Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty. His plays offered his contemporaries images of themselves, often dramatizing the lives, values, and conflicts of the emerging middle classes. Though he wrote in French and Italian, his plays make rich use of the Venetian language, regional vernacular, and colloquialisms. Goldoni also wrote under the pen name and title "Polisseno Fegeio, Pastor Arcade," which he claimed in his memoirs the "Arcadians of Rome" bestowed on him.

Reviews

[Payam Ebrahimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

کمی جالبی بود. شخصیت‌ها خیلی خوب در هم گره می‌خوردن و موقعیت مرتب پیچیده و پیچیده‌تر می‌شد. من رو سریع جذب کرد. ریتم خوبی هم داشت. فقط امان امان امان از ترجمه!
نمی‌دونم این کار اسمش همچنان ترجمه بود یا دیگه رسیده‌بود به جایی که بشه اسم بازنویسی رو روش گذاشت. اصطلاحات عامیانه و کوچه‌بازاری زبان فارسی، اون هم از نوع قدیمیش، بیش از اندازه زیاد وارد کار شده‌بود و البته مترجم در گرته‌برداری و ترجمه‌ی تحت‌الفظی هم سنگ تمام گذاشته بود و آش شله‌قلمکاری پخته بود که روی اعصاب مخاطب رژه می‌رفت. یعنی حتی استفاده از زبان عامیانه هم بصورت یکدست نبود و منِ مخاطب بین خوندن یک متن تالیفی دهه سی فارسی و یک ترجمه‌ی معمولی از یک کمدی قرن هجده ایتالیایی مونده بودم.

[پدرام مرقی · Rating 5 out of 5]

یک کمدی تمام عیار.
همونطور که پشت جلد خود کتاب هم نوشته ، اگر مولیر هارپاگون خسیس رو خلق کرد ، گولدونی ، للیو دروغگو رو برای ما روی صحنه آورد.
تمام اتفاقات در بستری رخ داد که خواننده از للیو متنفر نشود.
خوبی نمایشنامه این بود که صحنه هاش خیلی کوتاه بود و به طور مثال پرده نخست ، ۱۸ صحنه داشت. این موضوع روند خواندن نمایشنامه رو تسریع میکرد.

[Elisala · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'est burlesque, c'est n'importe quoi, c'est plutôt drôle, c'est du Goldoni.
Avec une bonne montée en puissance, des personnages à qui on a parfois envie de retourner une baffe, on regrettera seulement la fin moralisatrice un peu pourrie.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

A funny play to read, as I didn’t go for it. It was there on my friend’s shelf. After re-reading some absurd plays, Carlo Goldoni and 18th. century Italian comedy doesn’t fit today very much.

[Newly Wardell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny! The Liar is about you guessed it a liar. He is the the originator of alternative facts. So for some reason his father sent him to live with his uncle. Ten years later he goes to see Dear ol Dad and he just cant tell the truth. His servant is just aghast at the lies and his master's ability to just delve deeper and deeper regardless of the effects. The effects are hilariously cruel and real for something so old. It never fails to amaze me at how a baseless accusation can destroy a reputation. This is used to great comedic effect when coupled with naïve vanity.

[Osman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ağlamak değil gülmek...

[Susanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/6 points, play-script, a bit boring to read…