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Loading... Difficult Loves (1970)by Italo Calvino
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Some I liked much, much better than others, but they're worth it. ( ) Now, I read Italo Calvino’s Difficult Loves several months ago, borrowed from friends in Marrakech, meaning I don’t remember excessive detail nor do I have an English copy available for reference. What I do recall, very clearly, is finding it painful to read. I love short stories, and I have a keen interest in all things Italian. Somehow, though, these stories dragged, and moving from one to the next couldn’t happen fast enough. I very vaguely remember preferring the stories toward the end over the stories at the beginning, and with a little research, Calvino’s timing and method became clearer. I distinctly remember only a couple specific stories: the young messenger who raced silently through the woods thinking someone was following him, and the man who would rather read than commit himself to fifteen minutes worth of sex with a strange woman on the beach. For whatever reason, I didn’t see a whole lot of Italian culture staring at me through those pages; I didn’t learn too much about the history or the way Italians relate to each other. Obviously, I was excited to read my first Calvino, but it turned out to disappoint. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Italy in March and April had so harshly disappointed me, especially compared to my fabulous first couple months in Morocco. Perhaps my particularly difficult relationships at that time also colored my reading; timing is everything, of course. Ultimately, I’ve yet to read any other highly-recommended Calvino novels or short stories; they’re on my list, of course, but I’m taking my time getting to them after such a disappointing introduction. This collection of short stories is broken up into several sections with loosely unified themes. They are usually quirky adventures, slow-paced, but contemplative, largely outdoors, between few characters, who, in the usual fashion of this author, are not intricately described, but portrayed with a unique voice. You get the feeling that even when Calvino is not being metafictional, he's being metafictional. Even so, it is possible to enjoy this book for its soft tone alone. It has a subtle flavor, does not make great demands upon the reader, but also does not reward him with deep insights. Calvino is remembered for his dashing experiments, but he can be appreciated for his charming storytelling. This is not his most memorable collection, but for completionists and casual members of the Calvino cult, it is quite readable. Calvino scriveva davvero in maniera eccezionale! questo libro di racconti ne svela la incredibile capacità di scrittore. Come sa descrivere i dettagli che raffigurano i personaggi, le situazioni, i pensieri, gli stati d'animo è cosa davvero rara. E' uno di quei libri che ti fa apprezzare la bellezza della lingua italiana, senza ricorrere a neologismi; perchè la nostra lingua non necessita di questi. I racconti non hanno a tema gli amori, nonostante il titolo, ma ogni racconto descrive una situazione dove c'è un uomo (il protagonista è sempre il maschio) che si rapporta a una donna; uomo identificato da un aggettivo che ne precisa la condizione (bandito, viaggiatore, lettore, fotografo, ecc..). I racconti sono scarni, brevi, sembrano scritti come appunti messi in bella copia; e sono pure scritti, come detto, benissimo con una capacità di introspezione dei personaggi. Ma non entusiasmano, non trovo memorabili questi racconti. La seconda parte poi riporta due racconti ben più lunghi di quelli della prima - racconti molto veloci - ma anche questi due non sono testi che mi hanno entusiasmato. Personalmente sono rimasto infastidito dalla volontà di vivere una vita misera che i personaggi dichiarano apertamente, il voler rinchiudersi in una banalità e in una routine vuota, volutamente vuota. Il racconto poi della formica argentina poi è angosciante, senza speranza. Ma quando un libro è scritto così bene posso apprezzare a prescindere. Se avesse scritto un racconto sui movimenti di un lombrico sarebbe riuscito a farmelo leggere tutto fino alla fine. Quindi le 4 stelle se le becca. Poi, particolare basilare e imprescindibile, il libro mi è stato regalato dalla donna più spettacolare che io conosca. E solo per questo merita il mio più totale apprezzamento. no reviews | add a review
"Intricate interior lives are brilliantly explored in these short stories, now presented in one definitive collection as Calvino intended them. In Difficult Loves, Italy's master storyteller weaves tales in which cherished deceptions and illusions of love--including self-love--are swept away in magical instants of recognition. A soldier is reduced to quivering fear by the presence of a full-figured woman in his train compartment; a young clerk leaves a lady's bed at dawn; a young woman is isolated from bathers on a beach by the loss of her bikini bottom. Each of them discovers hidden truths beneath the surface of everyday life. This is the first edition in English to present the collection as Calvino originally envisioned it, and includes two stories newly translated by Ann Goldstein"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)853.914Literature Italian Italian fiction 1900- 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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