Ed. Elledici Piccoli Buy on IBS
How do you greet an adult? When should you use the formal form of address? What are the rules for using silverware? Which gifts are appropriate, and how do you accept them graciously? How do you choose a topic of conversation? This slim volume offers clear answers to these questions and a hundred others like them. The author addresses young readers, reviving for them the old lessons of "good manners"—the how-tos and shoulds—as if these rules were somehow unknown, forgotten, or simply ignored. But there is more here than etiquette. The suggestions are organized by topic and gradually sketch a way of being, a manner of behavior toward others in all sorts of situations and delicate moments. How do you conduct yourself in a group? On a shared vacation? How do you recognize a true friend? What do you say to someone you like? How do you invite them out? And how does she choose the right words, the behavior that matches what she truly feels? What makes someone a real sportsman? How does a proper fan behave? One chapter addresses "Difficult Situations"—those moments that make us uncomfortable, like standing beside a family grieving a loss or visiting a sick friend. And then: when you meet someone who is disabled, what should you say or do? Beyond the rules of etiquette, it seems the author wants to suggest to her readers a way of being with others that is more thoughtful and generous—one that overcomes our first instinct to think only of ourselves. I do have one small criticism: the text could be more concise in places, and some advice less detailed. I say this especially with impatient young readers in mind. But who knows? Perhaps we'll discover things we never thought of before—even if we skip a page here and there.
92/2005
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