Last Comes The Raven And Other Stories

The first complete English-language edition ofone of Calvino's importantearly short story collections

Blending reality and illusion with elegance and precision, the stories in this collectionone of Calvino's earliesttake place in a World War IIera and postwar Italy tinged with the visionary and fablelike qualities that would come to define this master storyteller's later style. Atrio of gluttonous burglars invade a pastry shop; twochildren trespass upon a forbidden garden; awealthy family invites a rustic goatherd to lunch, only to mock him. Inthe title story, a compact masterpiece of shifting perspectives, a panicked soldier tries to keep his witsand his lifewhen he faces off against a young partisan with a loaded rifle and miraculous aim. Throughout, Calvino delights in discovering hidden truths beneath the surface of everyday life.

Stories from Last Comes the Raven have been published in translation, but the collection as a whole has never appeared in English. This volume, including several stories newly translated by Ann Goldstein, is an important addition to Calvino's legacy.