These early short stories brim with the beauty of the Italian countryside and seaside, telling tales both sumptuous and unnerving. Calvino’s war-torn Italy is vivid, intense, almost hyper-real. A trio of greedy burglars rob a pastry shop, a boy offers a girl presents of toads and insects from the garden, a wealthy family invites a rustic goatherd to lunch, only to mock him.

In every story he reveals the hidden meaning beneath the surface of everyday life, and the ludicrousness of war. Some stories from Last Comes the Raven have been previously available in the collection Adam, One Afternoon. This new expanded collection includes several stories newly translated by Ann Goldstein and is an important addition to Calvino’s legacy.

Format: Paperback
Published: UK, 2023
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Pages: 256
Language: EnglishISBN 13: 9781784878214
ISBN 10: 1784878219