- 291 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Why Read the Classics?
About this book
This collection of essays by the acclaimed author of
Cosmicomics offers a fascinating, personal journey through some of literature's greatest works.
Ā
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.
Ā
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.
Ā
"This book serves as a welcome reminder that the great works are great because they can mean so much to readers, and Calvino is a most knowledgeable guide to all the best destinations."ā San Francisco Chronicle
Ā
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.
Ā
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.
Ā
"This book serves as a welcome reminder that the great works are great because they can mean so much to readers, and Calvino is a most knowledgeable guide to all the best destinations."ā San Francisco Chronicle
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Why Read the Classics? by Italo Calvino in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Essays. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Books by Italo Calvino
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Translatorās Introduction
- Preface
- Why Read the Classics?
- The Odysseys Within The Odyssey
- Xenophonās Anabasis
- Ovid and Universal Contiguity
- The Sky, Man, the Elephant
- Nezamiās Seven Princesses
- Tirant lo Blanc
- The Structure of the Orlando Furioso
- Brief Anthology of Octaves from Ariosto
- Gerolamo Cardano
- The Book of Nature in Galileo
- Cyrano on the Moon
- Robinson Crusoe, Journal of Mercantile Virtues
- Candide, or Concerning Narrative Rapidity
- Denis Diderot, Jacques le Fataliste
- Giammaria Ortes
- Knowledge as Dust-cloud in Stendhal
- Guide for New Readers of Stendhalās Charterhouse
- The City as Novel in Balzac
- Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend
- Gustave Flaubert, Trois Contes
- Leo Tolstoy, Two Hussars
- Mark Twain, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
- Henry James, Daisy Miller
- Robert Louis Stevenson, The Pavilion on the Links
- Conradās Captains
- Pasternak and the Revolution
- The World is an Artichoke
- Carlo Emilio Gadda, the Pasticciaccio
- Eugenio Montale, āForse un mattino andandoā
- Montaleās Cliff
- Hemingway and Ourselves
- Francis Ponge
- Jorge Luis Borges
- The Philosophy of Raymond Queneau
- Pavese and Human Sacrifice
- Publisherās Note
- About the Author