Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in the City [Paperback]

Italo Calvino (Author)

Book Description

Series: Helen and Kurt Wolff Books | Publication Date: November 16, 1983

Marcovaldo is an unskilled worker in a drab industrial city in northern Italy. He is an irrepressible dreamer and an inveterate schemer. Much to the puzzlement of his wife, his children, his boss, and his neighbors, he chases his dreams-but the results are never the expected ones. Translated by William Weaver. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Editorial Reviews

Review

In their first English translation and US publication: 20 short sketches written in the early 1950s and mid-1960s, all featuring the hapless aspirations of Marcovaldo, a father, husband, and unskilled laborer in a northern Italian city. With sly wit and utter economy, Calvino satirizes the drabness of the impoverished 1950s, the hollowness of the "booming" 1960s - yet never settles for easy targets or sentimentality, much preferring the ambivalence of whimsy. Thus, Marcovaldo may be forever yearning for the simpler, pastoral pleasures - and Calvino sympathizes - but his dreamy quests almost always have an under-cutting, wry outcome. With "an eye ill-suited to city life," for instance, Marcovaldo is overjoyed to spy mushrooms sprouting on a city street ("something could still be expected of life, beyond the hourly wage. . . with inflation index"); but this bucolic miracle leads only to a stomach-pump at the local hospital. Likewise, Marcovaldo has little luck with schemes to enjoy the night air, to feast on roast woodcock, to adopt a rabbit, to get his fish direct from the river. Nor, on the other hand, do his attempts at entrepreneurship - offering wasp-sting treatments (for arthritis), collecting free detergent samples, turning ugly neighborhood billboards to economic advantage - work out much better. And sometimes the clash between the realities of Marcovaldo's life and the consumer-society around him result in surreal vignettes: a visit, with empty pockets, to a super-supermarket, filling up cart after cart with unbuyable items; a disoriented ramble through the dark city, looking for the right tram. . . but winding up on an India-bound airplane. Rich with implications about the social milieu, yet far more insistent on fable-like charm than any message: a gentle, small early-Calvino treat, shrewdly translated and agreeably packaged. (Kirkus Reviews )

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (November 16, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156572044
• ISBN-13: 978-0156572040
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seasons go by, November 16, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in the City (Paperback)

It's hard not to admire the people who enjoy simple things... as long as they don't get out of touch with the reality. That seems to be the idea behind Italo Calvino's "Marcovaldo: Or the Seasons in the City," a warm little novel that shows the joys of life -- and the weird truths behind them.

Marcovaldo is an unskilled laborer in a rather dreary Italian city, with a stressed wife and a bunch of somewhat dopey kids. He also has an eye for beauty and an idealistic love of natural bounty. A stray rabbit, a blanket of snow, a peaceful park bench, a hidden stash of mushrooms, a trip to the countryside with his children, and a bus on a foggy night.

Marcovaldo revels in the natural beauty and good fortune that come to him on these occasions. Unfortunately, they aren't quite as wonderful as he thinks -- every time, something bizarre and unlucky happens to him, whether it's the noises of urban nighttime, the realities of farm work, diseased rabbits, a plane to Bombay, a minor avalanche, or a bad case of food poisoning.

Popping little idealistic dreams seems like a pretty mean-spirited thing to do. Yes, even to a fictional character like Marcovaldo. But somehow Italo Calvino's charming little book manages to be mocking and funny without being nasty about it. He's an airhead, and somewhat selfish, but amusingly and likably so.

The book is made up of little short stories, each focusing on one "season in the city," and a new problem for Marcovaldo. In a way, each amusing little story feels like a joke, with the punchline only coming at the end. For example, a walk in the fog and boarding a bus becomes a disaster, when Marcovaldo discovers that the "bus" is actually a plane heading for Bombay.

Here and there, Calvino also adds a bit of magical realism to the otherwise prosaic stories, such as one scene where Marcovaldo sneezes away every flake of snow in a large area. Even if this could never happen in the real world, his lush, almost conversational writing makes it come alive and seem plausible.

Its simple stories keep it from being among Calvino's best, but "Marcovaldo: Or the Seasons In the City" is a charming, offbeat book that takes a slightly more cynical look at idealists.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best...but still captivating, November 6, 2002

By 

"the-meta-one" (Elk Grove Village, Il United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in the City (Paperback)

We have all come to expect one thing from Calvino, an imaginative collection of short stories that come together to create an original novel full of intelligent humor, allusions to real life, and, most importantly, beautiful prose.
And this book does not disappoint.
We are presented with Marcovaldo--a down on his luck (constantly obvious) just above poverty working class man with a family he can't support. While this story may seem old, Calvino approaches it in a unique way. As the book progresses we see Marcovaldo hatch many, seemingly brilliant, plans to get rich only to have them fail miserably a few pages later. And all the while Marcovaldo, although down, catches glimpses of the subtle beauties of life, something that seems to be a trademark of Calvino.
All in all this is a very good book and definately worth the read (can probably be done in one sitting). If you only read one book by Calvino Invisible Cities is the way to go, but if you are looking to expand your library of Italian literature you won't be sorry with Marcovaldo.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars thank you italio calvino, January 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in the City (Paperback)

I read this book when I was very sad, and it gave me back the world.