Buondì.
“…e a chi non piace peggio per lui, rimane alle falde della collina.”
That’s Umberto Eco talking about the first hundred or so pages of ‘Il nome della rosa’ in ‘Postille a “Il nome della rosa” 1983’.
“…and whoever doesn’t like it, worse for them, they’ll remain on the slopes of the hill.”
He’s explaining that he made the first fifth of the story deliberately hard, as a sort of ‘boot camp’ for readers – only the tough, motivated ones will make it through and so get to read the rest of the tale!
Read more from the ‘Postille’ in the actual book, if you have it, and/or read my comment on today’s extract from our ‘riassunti’ of the story. (Find the series so far on our Literature page.)
But we do have some tough, motivated readers in our Book Club!
‘Bravi’ then, to those who are keeping up with the pace. Though that’s not strictly necessary – read as quickly or slowly as suits you.
‘Bravissimi’, invece, to everyone who has started at all! Give yourselves a gold star, even if you’ve only read a few pages so far, even if your level is low, your muscles are aching, and your boots are caked with mud.
And a special ‘grazie!’ to club members who are not only reading the book with us but have also taken the time to comment/interact with other participants, which to me is the best part. E veramente una cosa speciale!
Anyway, I was just going to add, over and above reading Eco’s book, how what he wrote “a chi non piace peggio per lui” struck a chime with me, from where I stand, half-way up my personal language-learning hill, looking down at those about to begin the journey.
Other club members, gathering around me to peer into the mists of the valley to see how far they’ve come, will probably know what I mean.
When we were starting out with Italian, or another language, it was as hard for us as it is now for hopeful pilgrims beginning their journeys.
Perhaps harder, given that these days there are all sorts of materials, apps, websites, multimedia and so on, that just didn’t exist back then.
People who have learnt languages, in my opinion, tend to be generous and willing to help others who want to do the same but have no idea where to begin.
Unfortunately, there’s little more to say than: begin, don’t stop, measure your progress, change direction when necessary.
Which is not much of an answer for travellers seeking the easiest, quickest route – ideally the one with no obstacles or risks, please.
Not finding the perfect way, they often won’t begin at all, or will give up soon after setting out.
Peggio per lui (o lei)!
Capitolo 5 | Literature page | How to learn Italian | Other free stuff to learn Italian | EasyItalianNews.com
P.S.
One of the advantages of running a virtual bookshop cum publishing company is that if you actually write something yourself, you have a way to publish and distribute it.
And one of the advantages of the lockdown is having the time, and energy, to dig out and risuscitate abandoned projects.
Such as my long-awaited ebook of poems!
‘No Permit’s Required’ is a 113-page .pdf format ebook containing “some verses for those who like to laugh or ponder”.
—
No permit’s required
No permit’s required
I realize
to capture moments
from my life
in words
to share with others
From a middle-aged
beginner poet:
some verses
for those who like
to laugh
or ponder
And everyone else
can go to hell
—
And no, mostly they don’t rhyme.
“A chi non piace peggio per lui!”
FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Find out more
Gail says
I really liked your poems from the sample ‘No permit required’. I laughed and pondered.
Daniel says
Thanks, Gail!
Donna says
So who did The author have in mind when he said the first part of the book was difficult? I was thinking about getting the book, but if he was addressing the typical native Italian speaker/reader I doubt I, at B2 would stand a chance.
Daniel says
He had in mind people who don’t deserve to read and enjoy his tale, Donna. He claims that he made it deliberately hard at the start to sort the men from the boys, so to speak, to create his ideal readership – smart, enthusiastic people like OnlineItalianClub.com members, I suppose.
Personally I don’t see why someone at B2 level should have any more difficulty than anyone else, assuming they are willing to put the work in and adopt a suitable approach (which I have been discussing for over a week now.) I have related in the past that I learnt Italian (from more or less zero) BY reading novels.
But you must make your own decision. Why not look in an Italian bookshop (online obviously) and see if you can find the free sample chapter or whatever. There must be something you can look at for free.