Wonderful . . . full of wit and erudition
Telegraph
A brilliant, original approach to literature, a key to Calvino's own work and a thoroughly delightful and illuminating commentary on some of the world's greatest writing
San Francisco Chronicle
I have always liked Calvino and after reading this book, I like him even more
- Wang Xiaobo, The Pleasures of Thinking
Rich and deeply satisfying ... this is very much a book that sets you off thinking ... there is a universe in here
- Nick Lezard, Guardian
Praise for Italo Calvino
- :,
A genial as well as a brilliant writer
- John Updike,
Calvino will continue to glitter, this strange, lonely prospector in the universe of words. . . a master in the empire of the imagination
- Ian Thomson, Independent
Reading Calvino, you're constantly assailed by the notion that he is writing down what you have always known, except that you've never thought of it before . . . he tells us, joyfully, wickedly, that there are things in the world worth loving as well as hating; and that such things exist in people, too. I can think of no finer writer to have beside me while Italy explodes, while Britain burns, while the world ends.
- Salman Rushdie,
No-one can read Angela Carter or David Mitchell without thinking of Calvino. Salman Rushdie is enthusiastic in his naming of Calvino as a major influence on his work, as am I.
- Jeanette Winterson,