Publisher Description
“In each other’s presence we became mute, would walk in silence side by side along the road to San Giovanni. To my father’s mind, words must serve as confirmations of things, and as signs of possession; to mine, they were foretastes of things barely glimpsed, not possessed, presumed.” -from The Road to San Giovanni
In these autobiographical essays, published after Italo Calvino’s death, the intellectually vibrant writer not only reflects on his own past but also inquires into the very workings of memory itself. From the title essay’s lyrical evocation of the author’s relationship with his father and a charming account of teenage years spent in the glow of the cinema screen, to Calvino’s reminiscences of his experiences in the Italian Resistance during World War II and of his years in Paris, to his declaration of purpose as a writer in the final essay’s visionary fragments, these five “memory exercises” are heartfelt, affecting, and wise.
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About Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino (1923-1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century’s greatest storytellers. He was awarded the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1982. He was born in Cuba and grew up in San Remo, Italy. He began his writing career as an essayist and a journalist but is best known for his fiction, including Invisible Cities, If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler, Marcovaldo, and Mr. Palomar, among others.
About Edoardo Ballerini
Edoardo Ballerini, an American actor, director, film producer, and multiaward–winning narrator. He has won several Audie Awards for best narration, including for 2019’s Best Male Narrator of the Year. He was named by Booklist as winner of their 2023 Voice of Choice Award, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, from classics to modern masters, from bestsellers to the inspirational, from Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners to spine-tingling series, and much more. In television and film, he is best known for his roles in A Murder at the End of the World, The Sopranos, 24, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dinner Rush, and Romeo Must Die. He is also trained in theater and continues to do much work on stage.