Mastro Geppetto

Reconstructing some of the core aspects of Italian identity in its complex, open and richly fascinating diversity, and re-reading books and stories that have contributed to defining its character. One such book is "Pinocchio", by Carlo Collodi, published in 1883 by Libreria Editrice Paggi, for educational purposes. Fabio Stassi rewrites this classic story for Sellerio from the perspective of Geppetto, creating a bitter, ironic "upside-down fairytale". The protagonist is a "carpenter who is sick with poverty, loneliness and old age", longing for love and fatherhood; a neurotic man, he falls victim to the practical jokes played on him by his malicious compatriots under the pretext of the adventures of a wooden puppet. The magic disappears, but the malice of an Apennine village remains, which serves as a paradigm for a world that is miserly with good feelings. Mastro Geppetto Fabio Stassi Sellerio, 2021