โ Scribed by Italo Calvino
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
All that can be done is for each one of us to invent our own ideal library of our classics. from Why Read the Classics?
Classics, according to Italo Calvino, are not only works of enduring cultural value, but also something much more personal: talismans, touchstones, books through which we understand our world and ourselves. In Why Read the Classics?, Calvino shares over thirty of his classics in essays of warmth, humor, and striking insight. He ranges from Homer to Jorge Luis Borges, from the Persian folklorist Nezami to Charles Dickens. Whether tracing the links between Ovids Metamorphoses and Alain Robbe-Grillets objectivity, discovering the origins of science fiction in the writings of Cyrano de Bergerac, or convincing us that the Italian novelist Carlo Emilio Gaddas works are like artichokes, Calvino offers a new perspective on beloved favorites and introduces us to hidden gems.
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. San Francisco Chronicle
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๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES
Why read the classics? -- The odysseys within The odyssey -- Xenophon's Anabasis -- Ovid and universal contiguity -- The sky, man, the elephant -- Nezami's seven princesses -- Tirant lo blanc -- The structure of the Orlando furioso -- Brief anthology of octaves from Ariosto -- Gerolamo Cardano -- Th
### Amazon.com Review Why read Italo Calvino's book on the classics? Because it passes his own test for what a classic is, and its brisk prose can blast your concept of the word clean of the dusty associations that cling to it. Calvino gives 14 offbeat definitions of *classic*, my favorite being "a
### Amazon.com Review Why read Italo Calvino's book on the classics? Because it passes his own test for what a classic is, and its brisk prose can blast your concept of the word clean of the dusty associations that cling to it. Calvino gives 14 offbeat definitions of *classic*, my favorite being "a
*Why Read the Classics?* is an elegant defence of the value of great literature by one of the finest authors of the last century. Beginning with an essay on the attributes that define a classic (number one - classics are those books that people always say they are 'rereading', not 'reading'), this i
Why read the classics? -- The odysseys within The odyssey -- Xenophon's Anabasis -- Ovid and universal contiguity -- The sky, man, the elephant -- Nezami's seven princesses -- Tirant lo blanc -- The structure of the Orlando furioso -- Brief anthology of octaves from Ariosto -- Gerolamo Cardano -- Th
### Amazon.com Review Why read Italo Calvino's book on the classics? Because it passes his own test for what a classic is, and its brisk prose can blast your concept of the word clean of the dusty associations that cling to it. Calvino gives 14 offbeat definitions of *classic*, my favorite being "a