Why Read the Classics? - Italo Calvino

Category: Misc. Non-fiction
Language: English
Keywords: Books About Books Essays

Written by Italo Calvino
Read by Edoardo Ballerini
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Classics, according to Italo Calvino, are not only works of enduring cultural value, but also personal touchstones. They are the books we are always rereading in order to understand our world and ourselves. Here, Calvino introduces more than thirty works from his own ideal library in essays of warmth, humor, and striking insight. He discusses great authors ranging from Homer to Jorge Luis Borges, and from Charles Dickens to the Persian folklorist Nezami.

Whether tracing the links between Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Alain Robbe-Grillet’s objectivity, discovering the origins of science fiction in the writings of Cyrano de Bergerac, or convincing us that the Italian novelist Carlo Emilio Gadda’s works are like artichokes, Calvino offers a new perspective on beloved favorites and introduces us to hidden gems.

Translated by Martin McLaughlin

June 11 2018
9 hrs and 42 mins