For a Handful of Books - Season 17

First aired: 2/1/2014 12 episodes

Episodes

1. Babette's Feast (by Karen Blixen)

Aired: 2/1/2014

In the first episode of the new season, the 5th A class of the scientific high school "S. Pertini" of Ladispoli and the 5th A class of the classical high school "G. Leopardi" of Macerata are competing. The text they are competing on is a short story by Karen Blixen, "Babette's Feast", which was made into a famous film. It is an opportunity to talk metaphorically about food, a very popular topic today. We see the relationship that kids have with food, discover their tastes and find a way to move from food to topics that have to do with current events.

2. A Very Small Bourgeois (by Vincenzo Cerami)

Aired: 2/8/2014

"Per un pugno di libri" pays homage to Vincenzo Cerami, the writer and screenwriter who recently passed away. The two classes, 5°A of the Romita scientific high school in Campobasso and 5°A of the Ricci Curbastro scientific high school in Lugo di Romagna, compete on "Un borghese piccolo piccolo", the successful debut novel transformed into a successful film by Mario Monicelli starring Alberto Sordi. The competition is hosted by Geppi Cucciari with the help of Professor Piero Dorfles.

3. Lady Chatterley's Lover (by David H. Lawrence)

Aired: 2/22/2014

At the center of the third episode of "Per un pugno di libri" is one of the most famous and controversial novels of the twentieth century: "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by David H. Lawrence. Accused of obscenity, tried and finally acquitted in 1960, after more than forty years from its publication, today the work of the English writer appears as one of the cornerstones of the twentieth century for the courage and intensity with which amorous passion was expressed. Two classes challenge each other in the usual games around Lawrence's novel: the Raffaello technical tourist institute of Urbino and the Iris Versari scientific high school of Cesano Maderno (Monza). Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Piero Dorfles.

4. Shining (di Stephen King)

Aired: 3/1/2014

"The Shining" by Stephen King is the focus of the fourth episode of "A Fistful of Books". It is the most famous novel by the king of thrillers, thanks also to the film that Stanley Kubrick made from it. The two classes that as always challenge each other, must deal with the protagonists of the terrifying story: the failed writer Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy and the little Danny endowed with special powers. The competition is the 3°E of the Nicola Spedalieri classical high school in Catania and the 5°H of the Piero Calamandrei scientific high school in Naples. Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with professor Piero Dorfles.

5. The Periodic Table (by Primo Levi)

Aired: 3/8/2014

Thanks to "The Periodic Table" by Primo Levi, to "For a Fistful of Books", with Geppi Cucciari and Piero Dorfles, we play with literature and with... chemistry. In fact, the stories in Levi's book, indicated as the best science book ever written, each bear the scientific name of a chemical element. Primo Levi, in addition to being a great writer, was also a chemist, and had studied at the Massimo D'Azeglio Classical High School in Turin, where the 3°B class comes from to play in the program. Against them is another 3°B: that of the Goffredo Mameli Classical High School in Rome. Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Professor Piero Dorfles.

6. Dogs and Wolves (by Irène Némirovsky)

Aired: 3/15/2014

Ben, Harry and Ada: they are the protagonists of "I cani e i lupi", the beautiful latest novel by Irène Némirovsky, at the center of the episode. The two classes in play are: the 3°G of the classical high school Romagnosi of Parma and the 5°B of the scientific high school Giovanni Paolo I of Agnone, Isernia. Up for grabs are many books and the possibility of accessing the final between the two classes that have ranked best during the season of Per un pugno di libri. Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Professor Piero Dorfles.

7. The Capuchin Crypt (by Joseph Roth)

Aired: 3/22/2014

The episode of "Per un pugno di libri" focuses on the end of a world, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This is in fact the theme of "La cripta dei Cappuccini", the novel by Joseph Roth. For the book's protagonist - and perhaps also for its author - the end of a world was also the end of the world. For the competing classes, it is an opportunity to read and engage with a masterpiece of twentieth-century literature. The 5th D of the Albert Einstein scientific high school in Milan and the 5th C of the Ruggero Settimo linguistic high school in Caltanissetta are competing in the episode. Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Professor Piero Dorfles.

8. The Queen Reader (by Alan Bennett)

Aired: 3/29/2014

The theme of this episode is "The sovereign reader" by Alan Bennett, the book on which the two high school classes compete. The challengers are class 5°B of the scientific high school Rinaldo D'Aquino of Montella and class 5°G of the scientific high school Enrico Fermi of Gaeta. The game is hosted by Geppi Cucciari and Professor Piero Dorfles.

9. The Disappearance of Patò (by Andrea Camilleri)

Aired: 4/5/2014

At the center of the episode of "Per un pugno di libri" is a manhunt. "La scomparsa di Patò" by Andrea Camilleri is the book on which the two competing classes must compete. Where has Patò gone, the gentle accountant who played Judas during the "Mortorio", the sacred representation of Good Friday? Was he killed? Did he escape? Was he perhaps involved in shady business? The 3°C of the Ernesto Cairoli classical high school in Varese and the 5°A of the Francesco Filelfo scientific high school in Tolentino (Macerata) unravel the tangle of newspaper articles, police reports and anonymous letters that make up the novel. Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Professor Piero Dorfles.

10. Travels with My Aunt (by Graham Greene)

Aired: 4/12/2014

The tenth episode of "For a Fistful of Books" is an invitation to a crazy adventure. At the center of the game, in fact, is "Traveling with Aunt", the novel written by Graham Greene "for the pleasure of writing" and read by those who love the pleasure of reading. Spies, adventurers, drugs, sex, illicit trafficking, are the explosive mixture that the protagonist of the book comes across, overwhelmed by an eccentric and nonconformist aunt whose existence he was unaware of. Competing on the fun book are the 5°M class of the Giuseppe Cevolani classical high school in Cento (Ferrara) and the 3°A/B class of the Angelico Aprosio classical high school in Ventimiglia (Imperia). Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Professor Piero Dorfles.

11. The Nose (by Nikolai Gogol)

Aired: 4/19/2014

The book in play is the funny long story by Nikolaj Gogol "The Nose": can you suddenly lose your nose, then find it walking down the street and finally get it back? That's what happens to Gogol's protagonist against whom the two competing classes must compete. They are the 5°B of the Carolina Poerio high school of human sciences in Foggia, and the 5°F of the Giovanni Verga high school of linguistic sciences in Adrano (Catania). Up for grabs are many books and above all the chance to access the final next week that will be played between the classes that have ranked best during the season of "Per un pugno di libri".

12. The Adventures of Pinocchio (by Carlo Collodi)

Aired: 4/26/2014

Last episode of "Per un pugno di libri": we will finally know which team is the winner of this edition. In fact, competing for the title of champions are the two classes that during the tournament qualified with the highest score: the 3°B of the Massimo D'Azeglio classical high school in Turin and the 5°A/S of the Iris Versari scientific high school in Cesano Maderno. At the center of the episode and the various tests is a classic of Italian literature, "The Adventures of Pinocchio", by Collodi, a book loved by generations of readers young and old but which today is perhaps more famous than read. It's an opportunity to pick it up again. Leading the game, as always, is Geppi Cucciari with Professor Piero Dorfles.