Difficult Loves, Italo Calvino
Difficult Loves, Italo Calvino
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Difficult Loves

Author: Italo Calvino

Narrator: Edoardo Ballerini

Unabridged: 7 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 12/01/2017

Categories: Fiction, Classic


Synopsis

A “wondrous work from the early career of one of the world’s greatest writers” (Kirkus Reviews)

Intricate interior lives are brilliantly explored in these short stories, now presented in one definitive collection as the author intended them. In Difficult Loves, Italy’s master storyteller weaves tales in which cherished deceptions and illusions of love—including self-love—are swept away in magical instants of recognition.
A soldier is reduced to quivering fear by the presence of a full-figured woman in his train compartment; a young clerk leaves a lady’s bed at dawn; a young woman is isolated from bathers on a beach by the loss of her bikini bottom. Each of them discovers hidden truths beneath the surface of everyday life.

About Italo Calvino

Italo Calvino (1923-1985) was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy, the short story collection Cosmicomics, and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. He received numerous awards for his work, including the Riccione Prize and the Saint-Vincent Prize. Lionized in Britain and the United States, he was the most-translated contemporary Italian writer at the time of his death, and a noted contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Vishal on December 07, 2015

Calvino’s prose is among the best I’ve read. Effortless, fluid beauty. He infuses the most normal situations with a God-like grace and reminds us that we are to other humans is how we are as humans; how our interactions with others is a reflection of our quirks, prejudices, inadequacies, and passion......more

Goodreads review by Arthur on January 03, 2021

The Difficult Loves collection is explendid! Beautiful writing, vivid descriptions, deep emotions, and unconventional situations as expected from Calvino. Most of the stories deal with love or lack thereof in many different forms. Enjoyable if you’re a fan. Smog and A Plunge Into Real Estate felt la......more

Goodreads review by Sal on May 04, 2021

And yet if I were permitted to replace my present state of uncertainty with that negative certainty, I would certainly refuse to make the exchange. * * * Once again I am amazed by Calvino's writing prowess. By far this is my favourite work of his. Comprised of 13 stories exploring love as a sublime an......more

Goodreads review by Ashley on April 24, 2017

3.5 Stars Slice of life stories written with Calvino's trademark flowing prose. The Italian writes with a perception that makes me wonder if I have ever really looked at the world around me. As usual, when reading Calvino I long to know what he would have made of our 21st Century. I felt this most k......more

Goodreads review by Prithu on August 20, 2018

Interesting read. Intricate detailing brings stories to live.......more