Numbers in the Dark - by Italo Calvino (Paperback)

About the Book

A posthumously published collection of short stories that span the breadth of Italo Calvino's career.

Book Synopsis

"Everybody telephones everybody at every possible moment, and nobody can speak to anybody . . . Distance has been the warp that supports the weft of every love story." -- from Numbers in the Dark

Written between 1943 and 1984, the stories in Numbers in the Dark span the career of one of fiction's modern masters: from Italo Calvino's earliest fables, to tales informed by life in World War II-era Italy, to the delightful experimentation that would define his later work. Here are speculative stories on life in the digital age, genre-bending wonders, and "impossible interviews" with the likes of Montezuma and a Neanderthal. Deftly translated by Tim Parks, Numbers in the Dark shows off Calvino's lifelong gift for subtle humor and shimmering philosophical insight.

"Numbers in the Dark is a glorious grab-bag . . . [with] enough gems from every phase in Calvino's career to make it feel indispensable." -- Seattle Times

From the Back Cover

Everybody telephones everybody at every possible moment, and nobody can speak to anybody . . . Distance has been the warp that supports the weft of every love story. from Numbers in the Dark

Written between 1943 and 1984, the stories in Numbers in the Dark span the career of one of fiction s modern masters: from Italo Calvino s earliest fables, to tales informed by life in World War II era Italy, to the delightful experimentation that would define his later work. Here are speculativestories on life in the digital age, genre-bending wonders, and impossible interviews with the likes of Montezuma and a Neanderthal. Deftly translated by Tim Parks, Numbers in the Dark shows off Calvino s lifelong gift for subtle humor and shimmering philosophical insight.

Numbers in the Dark is a glorious grab-bag . . . [with] enough gems from every phase in Calvino s career to make it feel indispensable. Seattle Times

Italo Calvino (1923 1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century s greatest storytellers. Born in Cuba, he was raised in San Remo, Italy, and later lived in Turin, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere. Among his many works are Invisible Cities, If on a winter s night a traveler, The Baron in the Trees, and other novels, as well as numerous collections of fiction, folktales, criticism, and essays. His works have been translated into dozen of languages.

Cover design by Peter Mendelsund & Oliver Munday

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About the Author

ITALO CALVINO's superb storytelling gifts earned him international renown and a reputation as "one of the world's best fabulists" (New York Times Book Review). At the time of his death in 1985, he was the most translated contemporary Italian writer.