This was my first (and accidental) introduction to Calvino, way back in April 2024. I'm not even sure how I got the book (it's the Our Ancestors book, and I either bought it at a second hand bookstore or had stolen(?) it from some park bench- if it's the latter, to my stolee I am so sorry about that, but you can't have it back lol), and it had pencilled notes in the margins and a very dried leaf between one of the pages-presumably used as a bookmark for whoever the book had belonged to before. I know you can read these stories in a more 'serious' way, but truth be told I was here purely for vibes and fun.

In my memory, The Cloven Viscount stands out the most because it's just a really funny story. Throughout Our Ancestors, I just kept on reimagining the uncle getting exploded by a canon tom-&-jerry style. No matter how bad my day is, the exploded-uncle is having a far worse one than me.

Nonexistent Knight: 4/5
Cloven Viscount: 3/5

Enjoyable

Lovely comment on philosophical dichotomy. Almost Jungian when showing the necessity of the shadow self. Pastoral imagery. Short and sweet. Book 1 of my Calvino marathon.

**i only read the nonexistent knight

it was genuinely enjoyable!! very interesting to learn about itaian intellectualism (and calvino's part in it) alongside this text
very happy to read something that isn't about arthur

i love how calvino writes fairy tale/knights/kingdoms type stories with such modern wisdom and style. it’s so special truly. his cleverness and wit comes through in every word here. would absolutely recommend to anyone! funny, beautiful, engaging read.

I wrote a review for this one but goodreads ate it. the UI for this app fucken sucks

Calvino!

Pleasant enough but didn't really grab my attention

This book comprises two novellas set in medieval or late medieval times. The first is about an empty suit of armour which may just be the best knight in all of Christendom.

I much preferred the second story whereby a nobleman gets sliced in two when fighting the Turks and becomes the ultimate "good cop/bad cop"

Playfulness and humour as ever from Mr C but a bit meh

شوالیه ناموجود هم یکی دیگر از شاهکارهای رمان پست مدرنیستی است که باز بر پایه اصل پارودی یا نقیضه سرایی شکل گرفته

I feel somewhat conflicted about rating these two novellas. On the one hand, Calvino is a master storyteller, and his skill is reflected in no small measure in these pages. The concepts, descriptions, characters and so forth are impressively well-rounded for such short volumes (~140 pages for one, ~100 for the other), and the style is full of wit and charm, and a commendable number of twists and turns to amuse the reader.

On the other hand, something about these stories just didn't capture me in the same way Invisible Cities, Difficult Loves, Cosmicomics, or If on a winter's night a traveller have. I'm not sure why that is, or if it's fair. Obviously, per usual, Calvino struggles with characterising women, particularly in The Cloven Viscount where it seems physical qualities are the only necessary description. But this is standard practice with Calvino so I'm not sure it's the issue I felt with these. More rumination is clearly required.

The Nonexistant Knight invites a lot of interesting speculation on ([un]reliable) narration, war and bureaucracy, and the process of writing. Between the two this story definitely captured me more.

The Cloven Viscount has some interesting commentary on "Good" and "Evil" but I'm not sure it used the space within effectively enough to really delve in as much as I'd have liked.

3.5 - 4ish average, would recommend but not as an introduction to Calvino.

The Nonexistent Knight is Calvino's parody of chivalric ideals. Agilulf, a suit of armor without a body inhabiting it, embodies the knightly virtues amidst the physicality of the battlefield & arduous journeys. Arthurian legend is satirized by Calvino as Knights of the Grail are portrayed as a band of mystical tyrannical overlords. An important mythical figure is Bradamante, from Orlando Furioso. OF is one of the most unusual, yet striking epic poems that I have ever read & Calvino's incorporation of Bradamante as a character into The Nonexistent Knight is one of the best aspects of the novella. 4 STARS

The Cloven Viscount begins with a powerful & haunting description of a plague ravaged battlefield in Bohemia in the 17th Century. The following day, during an ill-calculated charge of glory, Viscount Medardo is shot in the abdomen by a cannonball. Medardo's body is found, or at least half of it, & in a particularly gruesome passage he is resurrected while other patients suffering from far minor wounds are neglected & eventually die. Medardo returns to his hometown of Terralba & immediately becomes unrecognizable & not just because of his war wounds (literally missing half of his body). He becomes vindictive & spiteful, planning punishments for minor offenses & often for no reason at all. There are several interesting characters in TCV, not the least of which is Pamela. Fed up with her parents, & not one to be told what to do, she sets out for the forest to live happily with her goat & her duck. The Cloven Viscount contains hints of Shelly's Frankenstein & Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll etc but there is plenty of Calvino's singular whimsical prose with important life lessons for readers of all ages. Both The Nonexistent Knight & The Cloven Viscount were collected with Baron in the Trees into a single volume originally titled Our Ancestors. I understand why they have been published separately as Baron etc is really more of a full length novel at 200+ pages. I heartily recommend this trilogy that is not linked by characters, but rather by Calvino's questioning of identity, social satire, defense of individual freedom & wonderful prose.

The two short novellas in this volume are both nice enough, decidedly not bad early Calvino works. The Nonexistent Knight, especially, is a rather fun story. But they don't really compare with The Baron in the Trees, the third, longer book in Calvino's Our Ancestors cycle. As much of a Calvino fan as I am, this, sadly, is nowhere near the equal of Invisible Cities or some of his other, later books. However, you can see the early rumblings of something great.