Hermit in Paris: Autobiographical Writings

by Italo Calvino

Book Overview

Italo Calvino once said that he preferred to give false details about his biography since he felt that even the genuine data of a writer's life shed no light on the creative work. But this volume of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 037571426X
• ISBN13: 9780375714269
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Italian Writer Extraordinaire

I first read "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" by Italo Calvino and was hooked. Many years later, I had not forgotten this charming book, so when I was strolling in the bookstore and saw "A Hermit in Paris," I knew I had to get it. This is a collection of Calvino's writings collected after his death by his wife. There is some repetition among the writings, but the lyrical gems that await you in this autobiographical collection are worth wading through some similar pieces. Most engaging are his writings from his travels to the US in 1959-60 while on a grant from the Ford Foundation. As he notes in the book, although he is Italian, and lived a long stretch in Paris to write, at heart he is a citizen of New York. His take on the US is so fresh and engaging, it's sure to be your favorite section. He's surely the 20th century Italian version of de Toqueville, showing Americans new ways to look at themselves. However, there's a lot more there, including his tales of Resistance fighting against Mussolini in World War II, his work with an Italian publishing house, and his disenchantment with the Italian Communist Party, which he eventually left. This is a man that not only is a wonderful writer, but led a very colorful life, and these writings capture just a hint of what that life was composed of. This is a fascinating book, and not just for those of us who love Calvino's writing.

A Welcome Opportunity to Know Italo Calvino

This book is for readers who already know and appreciate Italo Calvino's major works of fiction. The center piece of this collection of interviews and memoirs is Calvino's notes on his 1959-1960 trip to the United States. The culture shock and fascination/irritation are especially absorbing to those who have been to the places Calvino visited and share Calvino's interests in literature and culture. These reminiscences are also interesting in the context of earlier Italian observers such as Ferruccio Busoni (concert tours 1892-1915) and Giorgio de Chirico (essay about New York in the 1930s).