Trilogia degli antenati- recensione a Il cavaliere inesistente

A volte come la protagonista femminile di questo romanzo amiamo quello che una persona rappresenta...

Mi ricordo di essere stata obbligata a leggerlo all'epoca del liceo insieme altri due della trilogia degli antenati di Calvino... dei tre questo è l'unico che mi ha coinvolto perché è vero che a volte come la protagonista femminile amiamo quello che una persona rappresenta (in questo caso l'armatura che però al suo interno è vuota perché appunto il cavaliere è inesistente come dice ironicamente il titolo)

Sólo me salen suspiros cuando se trata de esta trilogía. Qué imágenes tan bellas, tan fuertes. Mi amor por siempre a este autor y a estos tres libros. Los temas...miles: metaliterarios; el ser humano en conjunción con la naturaleza (aquí surgen las metáforas y símiles más hermosos que haya leído); el amor; la enajenación; el dilema por la libertad individual o en sociedad [¿se dice así?]; la existencia del mundo; la percepción que tiene el hombre de él. Espacios, tiempos históricos, géneros literarios, plantas, animales, personajes literarios y no literarios...tantos! Una amazona guerrera, el Antiguo Testamento, novela pastoril, la Ilustración, Carlomagno, Voltaire, una pastora, los caballeros del Santo Grial, la vincapervinca, Napoleón, Adán, una monja y su falsa modestia (como sor Juana), reyezuelos y cigüeñas, novela de caballería, la Revolución Francesa, el príncipe Andrei (de "La guerra y la paz" de Tolstoi), un magnolio...un ser que es pero no existe, otro que no vuelve a bajar a la tierra pero aquí vive, y otro más que es a la vez dos.

En orden de gusto, para mí van así:

El Barón rampante ***** [si pudiera le pondría infinitas más]
El caballero inexistente ****
El vizconde demediado **

This is a wholly bizarre and unusual book - by turns magical, humorous, historical, fantasy, fairy tale, medieval, realist...Calvino definitely had his own take on life. Its three stories: firstly the story of a knight blown up and chopped in half. The bad half returns home to reek havoc (but is naturally terribly thin), whilst the good half wonders round homeless. Then there is the `Baron in the trees', where a 12 year old decides he will spend the rest of his life up in the trees. This is helped by apparently there being vast swathes of forests in Italy at that time and it is possible to cover hundreds of miles by tree (Napoleon later chops them down). It’s a beguiling and romantic concept, the ancient holm oak forests inhabited by wild cats and other animals. Calvino has obviously given a lot of thought to the practical problems of living up a tree, and describes everything with convincing realism. It’s an argument for individuality and following your own path. There's one surreal part where Cosimo, the hero, encounters some aristocratic refugees from Spain who also inhabit trees, but in their case still maintaining the trappings of courtly life. As I say, wholly bizarre...
The third book was my favourite, on account of it being so beautifully written. This one is the `Non-existent knight' featuring a non-existent knight who fights on the side of Carlemagne in shiny white armour. He maintains his existence by sheer will-power alone. Unfortunately the knight is prone to being pedantic and a bit of a jobs-worth, which irritates the other knights (they don't seem to mind the fact he doesn't exist!)
I think you can safely say that Cavello wins the prize for originality and sheer balminess, but nothing wrong in being balmy, particularly when it’s as elegantly written as this.

Recull de tres novel·les de l'autor en què, a partir de premisses absurdes i inversemblants, narra les peripècies de personatges entranyables amb un estil i un sentit de l'humor particulars.