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Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Italo CalvinoUnabridged — 8 hours, 15 minutes
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini
Italo CalvinoUnabridged — 8 hours, 15 minutes
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This is perhaps the central accomplishment of Hermit in Paris -- the eagerness it roused in me, and will no doubt in others, to return to Il Maestro's earlier books and to read them in a different, deeper context. — Michael Mewshaw
The risk in gleaning the papers left by a writer is that one fundamental part of authorship is choice: what to leave and what to change and, of course, what to take out. Sometimes the choice has been clearly made, as in ''Six Memos.'' Here it has not; and choice is left to the reader. — Richard Eder
We have this collection of autobiographical writing and other pieces, which his wife found after his death, gathered in a folder; they are presented here in the order in which they appeared in print. The collection includes a diary of Calvino's trip to America in 1959-60, in the form of letters to a friend. Calvino was inclined to publish this diary as a book, the title of which was to be "An Optimist in America," but he decided it was too slight; it is the centerpiece of this volume, the longest and certainly to Americans the most interesting of the pieces included. The title A Hermit in Paris comes from a very late piece in which he describes his life as an outsider in Paris: odd, because the bulk of the volume describes his childhood, coming of age and maturity as an Italian and an Italian writer in Italy. — John Crowley
This new volume of autobiographical writings (never before translated into English) by Calvino, whose short stories and novels gave him international acclaim as one of the 20th century's most important Italian fiction writers, is a welcome addition to his extensive works as well as to The Road to San Giovanni, a posthumous collection of autobiographical essays published more than a decade ago. This volume includes a series of articles and interviews that builds on the understanding of Calvino's life after World War II when he returned to Italy from the Communist resistance in the Alps, a period when Calvino felt a "moment of uncertainty" and a "perplexity about" his vocation as a writer before producing his first novel, The Cloven Viscount. The articles also feature Calvino's views on some of his most popular novels: "In the United States... the book of mine that became a hit was the one that you would have said was the furthest from American reading habits: Invisible Cities." But it is Calvino's lifelong fascination with America that makes this collection remarkable: more than half the book is given to an "American Diary 1959-1960," written during Calvino's two years traveling in the U.S., as he explores New York's thriving Greenwich Village and Actors Studio; a "violent, tough" Chicago; San Francisco's "squalid and filthy" beatnik scene; and Montgomery, Ala., where Calvino (who died in 1985) finds himself "in the middle" of "crucial days of struggle" of the Civil Rights movement. His diary reveals an obsession with what he later says most interests him as a writer: "daily life as the constant nourishment for writing." (Mar. 11) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
One of the most important and influential Italian writers of the 20th century, Calvino is best known for his inventive novels. This collection, put together by his widow and published in English for the first time, consists primarily of autobiographical writings, newspaper and magazine interviews, and articles. The longest is an account of his journey to the United States in 1959-60, which includes his observations on civil rights issues and a letter-diary about life in New York City. Several other essays deal with his political views, with an important piece from 1979 explaining his past as a Communist-Stalinist. Throughout his body of work, Calvino was the ultimate anonymous observer; he hesitated to write about himself because he found himself uninteresting. Thus, admirers of Calvino who expect a thorough account of his rich life and disclosure of some unknown details will perhaps be less than satisfied with this book, but otherwise it is excellent. Highly recommended for all large literature collections in academic libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/02.]-Ali Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Surprising, tart, and distinctive, like [Calvino] himself.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“A book that any Calvino lover will want to purchase, pronto!” –The Seattle Times
“Distinguished by a sly philosophic humour. . . . a sensuous immediacy of detail and a droll wit. . . . a magnificent addition to the Planet Calvino.” – The Guardian
| BN ID: | 2940170788248 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
| Publication date: | 02/15/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Stranger in Turin
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Hermit in Paris"
by .
Copyright © 2004 Italo Calvino.
Excerpted by permission of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
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