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A review by sailorscoutgabs
The Nonexistent Knight & The Cloven Viscount by Italo Calvino
2.0
*2 stars*
I know now that I will probably never pick up something by Calvino again due to my dislike of his writing style and overall plots, but I do appreciate well executed magical realism themes (his execution was, to some extents, lacking, but overall not as terrible as I thought it would be). I also did like the historical context, as in the setting, with the overall of fantasy, so, not too shabby Calvino.
Regardless, I did not like either of these novellas because the characterizations felt flat and the plots were somewhat all over the place. I also really could not get into Calvino's writing style, which is why it probably put me off so much to read these.
If you enjoy, magical realism and subtle undertones of irony against certain themes (such as female status (which, in my opinion, sounded misogynistic the way he implied it), religious affliations, and so forth) and have a strong appreciation for Italian literature, then, by all means, read these novellas.
I know now that I will probably never pick up something by Calvino again due to my dislike of his writing style and overall plots, but I do appreciate well executed magical realism themes (his execution was, to some extents, lacking, but overall not as terrible as I thought it would be). I also did like the historical context, as in the setting, with the overall of fantasy, so, not too shabby Calvino.
Regardless, I did not like either of these novellas because the characterizations felt flat and the plots were somewhat all over the place. I also really could not get into Calvino's writing style, which is why it probably put me off so much to read these.
If you enjoy, magical realism and subtle undertones of irony against certain themes (such as female status (which, in my opinion, sounded misogynistic the way he implied it), religious affliations, and so forth) and have a strong appreciation for Italian literature, then, by all means, read these novellas.