I looked into Pirandello because of his fame as a Nobel Prize winning author. I read "The Late Mattia Pascal" which was OK but nothing special. I came across a book of his short stories titled "The Naked Truth" and I became immediately aware of the power of this author. I realized that he is known for his plays but these stories of the rural Sicilian society were outstanding. I immediately sent for this book to pick up where the others left off. Unfortunately, these stories are not in the same class as the others. They are OK but, after reading the other book, I felt let down. Still there is some good writing in here. I did enjoy "It's not to be Taken Seriously" and several others. However, these stories seemed more of mainland Italian urban society and, thus, lacked the unique flavor of the others. I suggest you read this book and pay special attention to the story "The Fly". It was the one story from the other book that was repeated in this one. In it I believe you will see the type of story I previously found so impressive.