11 h 49 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man who longs to master the sky cannot escape the demands of desire?
In Gabriele D'Annunzio's Perhaps Yes Perhaps No, flight is new, dangerous, and charged with promise. Paolo Tarsis seeks fame through daring in the air. On the ground, Isabella Inghirami wants him on her own terms, while her sister Vana feels a deep attachment that strains the bond between them.
Their younger brother, Aldo, brings further unease to a family already caught in powerful emotions. Between old Italian places and the open sky, the novel explores jealousy, pride, and the pull of ruin. Paolo's ambition raises a larger question: what happens when individual will seeks to rise above ordinary morality?
What you’ll discover
- The danger of flight Enter an age when fragile machines carry human ambition into an uncertain sky.
- Two sisters, divided desires Follow Isabella and Vana as their attachments to Paolo place their sisterhood under strain.
- A family in shadow Meet Aldo, whose fragility adds another source of unease around the lovers.
- The reach of will Explore the troubling dream of a powerful individual who stands beyond common morality.
- Language rich with sensation Sink into lavish sentences filled with colour, sound, and the heat of desire.
Who will love it
Readers who love lush Italian settings, early aviation, art and music woven into a story, and intense love triangles with a dark edge. Fans of richly painted, sensual prose will feel at home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A wager with death on the road
- Isabella is a mask that never settles
- A ruined palace holds a secret kiss
- Paolo and Giulio are brothers of the air
- Vana carries a yellow rose into the hangar
- The crowd demands a higher flight
- Volterra and the edge of the abyss
- What the book says about love and cruelty
- How the book is told, in music and images
Who’s who
- Isabella InghiramiA wealthy, fashionable widow who loves delay and pain, and who tests the men and women around her.
- Paolo TarsisA former naval officer and builder of flying machines, bound by loyalty to his friend and by desire for Isabella.
- Vana LunatiIsabella's younger sister, a singer with a secret vow and a deep, silent love for Paolo.
- Aldo LunatiIsabella's adolescent brother, a handsome cellist full of jealousy, longing and dark fancies.
- LunellaThe youngest sister, a fierce little girl who cuts paper figures with gold scissors and senses what adults hide.
- Giulio CambiasoPaolo's friend and rival, a pilot and former submarine officer who shares his dreams of the sky.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 49 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Perhaps Yes Perhaps No in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Perhaps Yes Perhaps No
by Gabriele D'Annunzio · 1910
Paolo's red car hurtles toward a timber wagon as Isabella smiles, and a ruined palace waits.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What would you wager on a country road? It gives you daring aviators, a ruined palace, a city of wind and stone, and two sisters who love the same man.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A wager with death on the road
The novel opens at full speed. Paolo Tarsis drives a red racing car along an old Roman road, and Isabella Inghirami sits beside him, veiled and smiling. He demands an answer to his love, and she gives him only one word, perhaps.
He asks if she will stake her life, and she says she can do anything. He aims the car at a wagon of logs drawn by oxen, and she watches Paolo's distorted reflection in the headlamp. A swallow strikes the radiator and dies, drawing a cry from her. He asks if she is afraid, and she says her fear is for the bird. At the last moment he swerves past the wagon, and she bursts into laughter that sounds like triumph and sounds like pain.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Perhaps Yes Perhaps No
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Perhaps Yes Perhaps No about?
It follows Isabella Inghirami, the aviator Paolo Tarsis and her siblings Aldo and Vana through love, jealousy and flight in early twentieth century Italy, from a race on a Roman road to the hills of Volterra.
What does the title Perhaps Yes Perhaps No mean?
The words are a motto carved in a ceiling labyrinth in the Este palace at Mantua. They stand for doubt, choice and the uncertain edge between desire and danger, and they echo through the story.
Who are the main characters?
Isabella Inghirami is a fashionable widow, Paolo Tarsis a pilot and builder of aeroplanes, Vana a singer, Aldo a young cellist, Lunella the youngest sister, and Giulio Cambiaso Paolo's friend in the air.
The author
Gabriele D'Annunzio
1863–1938 · Italian poet and novelist
Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863–1938) was an Italian novelist, poet and playwright. He was born in Pescara and died in Gardone Riviera. His novels include The Child of Pleasure (1889), The Triumph of Death (1894) and The Flame (1900). He also served as a soldier during the First World War.
More by Gabriele D'Annunzio
All 5 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
