ŷ������

A fantasy/farce by the master. Set in Italy around the time of Napoleon, a young man, discouraged by his boring relationship with his two crazy parents, crazy sister, friar/tutor and crazy uncle who lives with them, “takes to the trees�� of the surrounding forest at age twelve and never touches the ground again, dying at age 65. Like an overly long joke, I wondered how long Calvino could pull off this story and keep it interesting, but he does it successfully for more than 200 pages.



The Barn’s lifelong story is told mostly by his younger brother who sees him daily and supplies him with essentials, although the brother in the trees gathers wild food and shoots animals. Their father, the older ‘Baron, ‘is obsessed by his social pretentions. Their mother, German by birth, is equally obsessed with military operations, maps and battles and seems not to mind her son’s bizarre behavior, taking it as a kind of military scouting campaign. They call her the ‘Generalessa.��

The forest is extensive and he lowers baskets to buy books from the local bookstore in town at the edge of the forest. When still young, his tutor comes to sit up in the trees with him. He courts young women and falls in love with one. He battles bandits and pirates, meets up with soldiers (including Napoleon), and makes friends with the marginal folks who live in the forest including homeless coal miners, fruit pickers and poachers. He even sets up a press and prints a newspaper for a time. The locals defer to him as the ‘Young Baron.�� He acquires a reputation beyond Italy as the man who lives in the trees and corresponds with folks like Voltaire, receiving back brief, polite letters.



Not my favorite Calvino, but a decent read.

The Baron in the Trees, painting by Italian artist Salvatore Nangione from artrabbit.com
The author from ilglobo.com