Path to the Spiders' Nests

<p>Italo Calvino was only twenty-three when he first published this bold and imaginative novel. It tells the story of Pin a cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast during World War II. He lives with his sister a prostitute and spends as much time as he can at a seedy bar where he amuses the adult patrons. After a mishap with a Nazi soldier Pin becomes involved with a band of partisans. Calvino's portrayal of these characters seen through the eyes of a child is not only a revealing commentary on the Italian resistance but an insightful coming-of-age story. Updated to include changes from Calvino's definitive Italian edition previously censored passages and his newly translated unabridged preface--in which Calvino brilliantly critiques and places into historical context his own youthful work--<em>The Path to the Spiders' Nests</em> is animated by the formidable imagination that has made Italo Calvino one of the most respected writers of our time.</p>