The Path to the Spiders' Nests Lib/E

Italo Calvino was only twenty-three when he first published this bold and imaginative novel. It tells the story of Pin, a cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast during World War II. He lives with his sister, a prostitute, and spends as much time as he can at a seedy bar where he amuses the adult patrons. After a mishap with a Nazi soldier, Pin becomes involved with a band of partisans. Calvino's portrayal of these characters, seen through the eyes of a child, is not only a revealing commentary on the Italian resistance but an insightful coming-of-age story. Updated to include changes from Calvino's definitive Italian edition, previously censored passages, and his newly translated, unabridged preface--in which Calvino brilliantly critiques and places into historical context his own youthful work--The Path to the Spiders' Nests is animated by the formidable imagination that has made Italo Calvino one of the most respected writers of our time.

About the Author :
ITALO CALVINO (1923-1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century's greatest storytellers. Born in Cuba, he was raised in San Remo, Italy, and later lived in Turin, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere. Among his many works are Invisible Cities, If on a winter's night a traveler, The Baron in the Trees, and other novels, as well as numerous collections of fiction, folktales, criticism, and essays. His works have been translated into dozens of languages. Edoardo Ballerini is an American writer, director, film producer and actor. He has won many awards for his audiobook narration; within only a few years after beginning his narrating career, he won several AudioFile Earphones Awards for his work, including Stephen Greenblatt's The Swerve: How The World Became Modern, Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller and Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins. He narrated Kenzaburo Oe's Nobel Prize Winning Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids, Joseph Finder's The Moscow Club as well as works by John Edward and Daniel Stashower. In television and film, he is best known for his role in The Sopranos, 24, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dinner Rush and Romeo Must Die. The silky-voiced Ballerini is trained in theater and continues to do much work on stage.

Review :
"As [Calvino's contemporaries) continue to look for the place where the spiders make their nests, Calvino has not only found that special place but learned how himself to make fantastic webs of prose to which all things adhere." -- "New York Review of Books" "Narrator Edoardo Ballerini gives a scintillating performance of Italo Calvino's first novel...Ballerini inhabits each character so deeply that we forget he's there. Voices not only change, they also identify who's speaking without any attributions needed...Ballerini's Italian accents are varied and perfect, and his delivery of Calvino's self-reflective preface offers valuable insights into one of the finest authors of the twentieth century. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award." -- "AudioFile"