The Path to the Spiders' Nests

<p>Pin is a bawdy adolescent cobbler's assistant both arrogant and insecure who - while the Second World War rages - sings songs and tells jokes to endear himself to the grown-ups of his town - particularly jokes about his sister who they all know as the town's 'mattress'. Among those his sister sleeps with is a German sailor and Pin dares to steal his pistol hiding it among the spiders' nests in an act of rebellion that entangles him in the adults' war.<br><br>Italo Calvino one of Italy's finest postwar writers has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple fable-like stories. He was born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. His major works include <i>Cosmicomics</i> (1968) <i>Invisible Cities</i> (1972) and <i>If on a winter's night a traveler</i> (1979). He died in Siena in 1985. <br><br>Martin L. McLaughlin is Professor of Italian and Fiat-Serena Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Oxford where he is a Fellow of Magdalen College. In addition to his published academic works he is the English translator of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino among many others.</p>