The eight stories in this collection, by Moravian, Pavese, Pratolina,
and other modern writers, have been selected as being representative of
contemporary Italian writing. The English translations provided are
literal rather than literary, and there are notes and biographies to
help the student of Italian. However, the volume can also be helpful to
Italians, who can improve their English by studying a strict rendering
of stories with which thet may already be familiar.