The Path to the Nest of Spiders

The Path to the Nest of Spiders is one of most famous writings of Italian 20th century writer Italo Calvino.

Related Topics:
Italian - 20th century - Italo Calvino

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Astonishingly it was originally written in Italian and the original title is 'Il sentiero dei nidi di ragni' which translates as you'd imagine. The book follows the antihero Pin against the backdrop of World War One, orphaned and alone Pin searches for a identity with La Brigata Nera and other partisan groups. All the while the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust. Pin also has a sister "la nera" who is a bit of a goer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most critics agree that the work is unexceptional however one passage about prisoners-of-war being made to dig their own grave before being shot is universally regarded as impressive.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In translation the book loses much of Calvino's nuance but it is probably easier to read the translation than to learn Italian.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

English speakers of Italian also 'get' the irony about an Italian who keeps changing sides in wartime.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The book is skilfully written (and only adequately translated) but fails to satisfactorily address the issues apart from from a very naive perspective.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~