Last Comes the Raven: And Other Stories
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-09 06:51:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Italo Calvino
- ISBN：0544146700
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Summary
The first complete English-language edition of one of Calvino’s important early short story collections
Blending reality and illusion with elegance and precision， the stories in this collection—one of Calvino’s earliest—take place in a World War II–era and postwar Italy tinged with the visionary and fablelike qualities that would come to define this master storyteller’s later style。 A trio of gluttonous burglars invade a pastry shop; two children trespass upon a forbidden garden; a wealthy family invites a rustic goatherd to lunch， only to mock him。 In the title story， a compact masterpiece of shifting perspectives， a panicked soldier tries to keep his wits—and his life—when he faces off against a young partisan with a loaded rifle and miraculous aim。 Throughout， Calvino delights in discovering hidden truths beneath the surface of everyday life。
Stories from Last Comes the Raven have been published in translation， but the collection as a whole has never appeared in English。 This volume， including several stories newly translated by Ann Goldstein， is an important addition to Calvino’s legacy。
Blending reality and illusion with elegance and precision， the stories in this collection—one of Calvino’s earliest—take place in a World War II–era and postwar Italy tinged with the visionary and fablelike qualities that would come to define this master storyteller’s later style。 A trio of gluttonous burglars invade a pastry shop; two children trespass upon a forbidden garden; a wealthy family invites a rustic goatherd to lunch， only to mock him。 In the title story， a compact masterpiece of shifting perspectives， a panicked soldier tries to keep his wits—and his life—when he faces off against a young partisan with a loaded rifle and miraculous aim。 Throughout， Calvino delights in discovering hidden truths beneath the surface of everyday life。
Stories from Last Comes the Raven have been published in translation， but the collection as a whole has never appeared in English。 This volume， including several stories newly translated by Ann Goldstein， is an important addition to Calvino’s legacy。
Reviews
Andrea
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Italo Calvino really pushes out of our comfort zone with these stories in a multitude of ways。 The most prominent theme that stood out to me was the subject of death。 We often ruminate about the subject of our own death as something that may happen sometime in the future， but overall， it is a thing many of us choose to ignore。 In many of the stories Calvino presents to us， we are faced with the ultimate inevitability of death。 Many of the deaths appear pointless or happen with little warning， we Italo Calvino really pushes out of our comfort zone with these stories in a multitude of ways。 The most prominent theme that stood out to me was the subject of death。 We often ruminate about the subject of our own death as something that may happen sometime in the future， but overall， it is a thing many of us choose to ignore。 In many of the stories Calvino presents to us， we are faced with the ultimate inevitability of death。 Many of the deaths appear pointless or happen with little warning， we find ourselves siding sometimes with the enemy in some of these stories， as is the case with "Last Comes the Raven"。 These are situations that don't fit our ideal about how a story should end。 The stories have a sort of fantastic element to them， but at the same time， I found them incredibly realistic and I appreciated that wholeheartedly。My favorite stories from the book are listed below: -The House of the Beehives - The Same Thing as Blood - The Wait for Death in a Hotel - Hunger at Bevera -One of the Three is Still Alive - Desire in November 。。。more
Zachary Houle
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I used to be a fan of the works of Jonathan Lethem （I won’t go into what made me stop being a fan in this review as it is too heartbreaking a story on my part）， and I knew that a big influence on the works of Lethem was an Italian writer named Italo Calvino （1923–1985）。 Calvino is said to be an early fabulist — a writer of stories that have magic realism elements to them — but if you’re looking for that in this collection of short stories， Last Comes the Raven， you’re going to walk away empty-ha I used to be a fan of the works of Jonathan Lethem （I won’t go into what made me stop being a fan in this review as it is too heartbreaking a story on my part）， and I knew that a big influence on the works of Lethem was an Italian writer named Italo Calvino （1923–1985）。 Calvino is said to be an early fabulist — a writer of stories that have magic realism elements to them — but if you’re looking for that in this collection of short stories， Last Comes the Raven， you’re going to walk away empty-handed。 Truth be known， Calvino had his hand in more realist stories， and this collection of early writings is more a look at the ludicrousness of war， being set in World War II and post-war Italy。 In a way， Calvino’s writing in this collection could be said to be neo-realist， to borrow from the Italian film genre that was popular immediately after the war。 However， there’s a big problem with many of these tales in that they are shaggy dog stories that go nowhere。 They run on， and then they end on a dime。 With or without a punchline。The best stories in Last Comes the Raven are the ones that slyly look at the human condition in detail。 The first story in this collection is a piece about a young man who “gifts” a servant girl around his age with insects and toads from the garden outside of the home she’s serving in。 At the end of the story， all of the animals have joined the girl inside the room where she’s to wash dishes。 It’s a tale about longing in a sense， about wanting to gift parts of yourself in an animalistic way to someone else and join them in their toils。 There’s another great story in this collection about a bunch of burglars who break into a pastry shop and one of the burglars can’t help but eating the baked goods rather than grabbing what’s in the till and running。 It’s a piece about the gluttony of theft， and it is humourous。 As a story， it works — it’s entertaining， at least。 Some stories may make you feel uncomfortable。 There’s a tale in here about a soldier going on leave who is sitting aside a sleeping widow coming back from her husband’s funeral in a train passenger car， and the soldier uses the opportunity to kind of sexually assault the poor woman by secretly placing his hands on her body in slow， halting ways at convenient times （ie。 when they enter a tunnel）。 It’s an unsettling story， one that cuts a little too close to the truth of the unchecked desires of young men。Read the rest of the review here: https://zachary-houle。medium。com/a-re。。。 。。。more
Vatroslav Herceg
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