A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works (Thrift Editions)

Good book

En fait, ce livre regroupe de nombreux essais satiriques de Swift et pour ceux qui aiment l'humour noir et le cynisme, vous serez servis. Par contre, je trouve l'édition pas terrible (papier cheap et texte trop dense).

Una satira davvero spassosa se non fosse tristissima. Jonathan Swift propone una (finta) storia per disfarsi dei bambini degli irlandesi poveri: arrivati a circa un anno vanno cotti e dati in pasto a personaggi abbienti in modo che si elimini la tristissima storia dei giovani indigenti affamati. Ai suoi tempi l'affare prese anche una strada sbagliata: molte persone protestarono violentemente tacciando il testo come un libello sbagliato e polemico senza capire che si trattava invece di una questione che Swift volle sollevare per risolvere diversamente un problema di fame e morte.

Jonathan Swift was a satirical genius! His writing style is difficult to read, and it took me a while to parse his sentences and understand what he was trying to say, but it was hilarious once I got it! I originally bought this collection just for his "Modest Proposal" but I enjoyed all of the other works in this short collection as well.

If you like satire, jut read these pieces to see how well it can be done. The title piece is a wonderful reductio ad absurdum, how to make clear how irrational a position is by taking it to the (il-)logical conclusion.

Very happy to receive this book quickly which was needed for University Class.