- Author
- Paolo Villaggio
- Title
- Fantozzi
- Translator
- -
- Publisher
- Rizzoli, 2003
- Info
- English translation not available
Employee’s hyperbole
Accountant Ugo Fantozzi, whose early adventures are collected in this anthology, is the eponymous hero in the most famous Italian office based saga in the last decades. Fantozzi’s short stories are usually brief sketches, sometimes a bit hasty, where the accountant and his colleagues are portrayed in real-life scenes that often turn into surrealistic ones. The book style is not remarkable, but many of the stories are marked by the author’s choice of hyperbole. This figure of speech emphasizes each element of the text, from the situation itself to every single adjective that connotes it. This exaggeration also is the keystone of Fantozzi’s films screenplays. In these films he appears as a toon, usually destroyed by the fury of the events. This has made Fantozzi a character credible and incredible at the same time. That’s why hes also a therapeutic hero: in fact, Fantozzi gives readership public the chance to amuse themselves at his misadventures, without the risk of identify themselves too much with him.
English version edited by Sara Di Girolamo
