Customer Reviews

Italo Calvino

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The title alone suggests--at least, to this reader--that one would encounter, in this book, an accessible introduction to Calvino's works that avoids scholarly babble on the one hand and boring plot synopsis on the other. But, alas, the reader who expects this sort of book will have to look elsewhere. In other words, the so-called "average reader" who wants to know Calvino's works but has been intimidated by the professors will not find comfort in McLaughlin's book. To be sure, ITALO CALVINO: WRITERS OF ITALY is a slick, readable effort; but it leaves us wanting more depth in the analysis.

It begins at a rapid pace, and the momentum never really lets up: the biographical section in the Introduction (which sketches an interesting image of Calvino) is brief, and it lures us into the rest of the book. But it's best to read this book for the first time as fast as one can, while not giving too much attention to McLaughlin's analysis. Such an initial reading involves taking a lot on trust; but to give the book critical scrutiny the first time through will most likely lead the reader to irritation and boredom. Best to just get the narrative's sense of flux, to just let McLaughlin's discussion unfold.

And what of those moments when we begin to look at this book more closely, especially when we finish reading a Calvino novel and we now turn to ITALO CALVINO: WRITERS OF ITALY to supplement our reading? Well, a familiar pattern in the book emerges: We see McLaughlin offering an interesting thematic point, raising our expectation for a good analysis, but then he doesn't take it any further. In the chapter on INVISIBLE CITIES, he explores the structure of this novel, stating that "whether one uses numbers or letters to signify the cities, it is always a symmetrical lozenge or diamond-shape structure which emerges, and which suggests that the top triangle of Chapter I, and the bottom triangle of Chapter IX represent complementary, regular patterns which omit the irregularities of reality--this being one of the themes of the work" (102).

"The irregularities of reality": a splendid line, really. But what does it mean? And why are these "regular patterns which omit the irregularities of reality" one of the themes of INVISIBLE CITIES? McLaughlin doesn't pursue the argument any further.

Indeed, the book concentrates heavily on the form (structure) of Calvino's works and seems to neglect the content. True, McLaughlin states in the Introduction that, for Calvino, "structure was an integral part of the meaning of a literary text" (x) and that, taking Calvino's own advice, the "primary focus of this study" is to "discern the different layers of writing beneath the uniform surface of the text" (xi).

To which we say: good Lord. For some reason this approach leaves us hanging, so to speak. As a result, we feel distant from Calvino's works; we feel we haven't gained any insight into his novels.

I should point out that there are inconsistencies in the translations of Italian words and book titles. The chapter on Calvino's style has several: McLaughlin explains that in "Senza colori (1965), 'quella tinta bituminosa' (II, 1336) is rewritten as 'quella luminosita caliginosa' (II, 127)" (158). Unfortunately, this passage is meaningless to readers who don't speak Italian.

If there ever was a writer for the people, I think Italo Calvino fits that role. Fortunately, his books are available to the paperback audience. But this audience, of which I am a proud member, could use the guidance of a sort of pilot-commentary; a friendly companion to Calvino's works; a book not to be read from cover to cover but to be dipped into by non-scholars who would like to know something about a Calvino novel. This is not, then, that book. There are moments when ITALO CALVINO: WRITERS OF ITALY appears to be that ideal commentary--but it quickly falls short of its potential.