548. Our Ancestors

Our Ancestors
Italo Calvino
1960
Around 400 pages

Well, aren't we sneaky. Our Ancestors is actually three novels that were later published as one volume. I'm just saying, after completing this List, I will have read way more than 1001 novels. Which really messes with the aesthetic I have going on here.

First we have the Cloven Viscount, which tells the story of the Viscount Medardo of Terralba, who is split in two after he takes a cannonball to the chest in the seventeenth century Turkish wars. He is then split into two beings, Gramo (the Bad) and Buono (the Good). Baron in the Trees tells the story of Cosimo, who doesn't want to eat snail soup so climbs the trees of his home garden and refuses to come down again. Finally, we have The Nonexistent Knight, which is a parody of medieval literature that involves a knight who is actually a lucid empty set of armor. 

Well, this certainly checked a lot of my boxes. We have fantasy, medieval romance, people having sex in trees. Italo Calvino must be one of the most creative authors on this List. You never know what he is going to come up with, and he quickly imbues any fantasy world with life and humor. He doesn't overstay his welcome, either. Who knew fantasy stories could be so short?

I enjoyed the Cloven Viscount the most, with The Nonexistent Knight probably coming in last. Still, a fun volume that allowed me to forget we have a Beckett novel coming up next.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

With If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, The Baron in the Trees is Calvino's best-selling work of fiction.

The Non Existent Knight was adapted into an animated film in 1970.

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