«La pagina breve» is an anthology of contemporary short stories, chosen to bring together the pleasure of literature and language practice. Presented in full version, the texts retain the fascination of the authors’ words and the coherent development of the story. The genres represented in the anthology offer a rich and varied view of different examples of Italian literature from the twentieth century: from the peasant’s story (Alvaro, Malerba, Brancati) to the descriptions of urban life (Moravia, Pontiggia); from science-fiction (Maraini) to satire (Buzzati); from modern fairy tales (Arpino) to romantic stories (Parise), and lots more. The book is aimed at intermediate level students and is accompanied by: •information about the authors; •an introduction to the text; •linguistic and cultural notes; •comprehension, summary and language exercises.»