Italo Calvino

A major testament by an essential 20th century writer composed of five strikingly elegant "memory exercises" about his life and work--now available in paperback. With visionary passion, the author traces pieces of his childhood and adolescence, his experiences during WWII, and more. "Storytelling at its …

Set on the Ligurian coast during World War II, The Path to the Spiders' Nests tells the story of Pin, a cobbler's apprentice who lives with his sister, a prostitute, and spend as much time as he can at the local bar. When his friends dare him to steal a pistol from a Nazi soldier, he sets off on a series of picaresque …

The Castle of Crossed Destinies is a 1973 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. Its narrative details a meeting among travelers who are inexplicably unable to speak after traveling through a forest. The characters in the novel recount their tales via Tarot cards, which are reconstructed by the narrator. The novel …