The Written World and the Unwritten World, by Italo Calvino and translated by Ann Goldstein, is a wonderful collection of what they are collectively calling essays. Some are more like notes and commentary, but it doesn't matter, this is a fascinating glimpse into Calvino's thinking.

There are very few readers who will have read all of the works he mentions. I know for some readers that will be a negative, but for those who can read criticism and commentary and grasp the point the writer is making without necessarily having read what he is referring to, this will be a delight. Make no mistake, the more works you've read the better you can get his points, especially in essays dedicated to a work. But another aspect to these essays isn't about the specific works but about understanding how a mind such as Calvino's reads and assesses literature.

Many of the pieces in the first section will mention quite a few works but not really be about any of them. He will be talking about a genre, a way of understanding literature, even how to approach writing and translations. He makes his points and usually tosses out an example or two. Even if you don't know those works, the explanation of an idea that precedes the mention of a work is where the takeaway is, not in simply knowing that work. In other words, don't let being unfamiliar with some of the works he cites keep you from enjoying the stroll through how a very intelligent writer and reader approaches literature.

The essay from which this volume gets its name is very good and, I think, one that most readers will appreciate, as well as any writers. Like any collection some of these pieces won't click for you. Unless you're studying Calvino and want to dissect his every word, there is no problem with disengaging from a few of the essays. I found a lot of the ones from the late 50s and very early 60s particularly interesting because that was right after his disenchantment with the Soviet Union and Stalin and his very public resignation from the Communist Party in Italy. Looking at how he touches on workers and wars, political and cultural ideas, is fodder for an amateur interpreter such as myself. Did he mean this? Was he referring to that? I am eager now to go back and reread all of his work. Alas, it isn't as easy as it once would have been, I lost all of my books way back in Katrina and have not even come close to replacing all 5000 or so books. But I can check a few out, find a few second hand, and fill it out with new copies.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in either Calvino himself or with ways of understanding and appreciating literature in general. You don't have to agree with his views to get a lot out of this book, the methodology holds true regardless.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

Artículos y ensayos inéditos que van desde los años cincuenta hasta 1985 ( )

Uno dei saggi è sulla traduzione.
Segnalato da Alice Gerratana