Why Read the Classics?
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · December 16, 2014
A Nonfiction pick for readers exploring Why Read the Classics?.
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- Who it’s for
- Calvino’s warm, witty essays make literary classics feel personal and newly connected.
- Themes
- Personal meaning of classics, Fresh perspectives on literary works
- Genres
- Books & Reading, Italian Literary Criticism, Essay Collections
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Start with this bookAbout this book
“All that can be done is for each one of us to invent our own ideal library of our classics.” —from Why Read the Classics? Classics, according to Italo Calvino, are not only works of enduring cultural value, but also something much more personal: talismans, touchstones, books through which we understand our world and ourselves. In Why Read the Classics?, Calvino shares over thirty of his classics in essays of warmth, humor, and striking insight.
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He ranges from Homer to Jorge Luis Borges, from the Persian folklorist Nezami to Charles Dickens. Whether tracing the links between Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Alain Robbe-Grillet’s objectivity, discovering the origins of science fiction in the writings of Cyrano de Bergerac, or convincing us that the Italian novelist Carlo Emilio Gadda’s works are like artichokes, Calvino offers a new perspective on beloved favorites and introduces us to hidden gems. “This book serves as a welcome reminder that the great works are great because they can mean so much to readers, and Calvino is a most knowledgeable guide to all the best destinations.” —San Francisco Chronicle
A Personal Canon
Calvino’s warm, witty essays make literary classics feel personal and newly connected.
Come here for
- Warm, witty essays from Homer to Borges
- A personal way into books that endure
Expect
- Unexpected links across centuries and genres
- Fresh perspectives on favorites and hidden gems
Where it sits
| Books & Reading | 78% |
|---|---|
| Essay Collections | 42% |
| Italian Literary Criticism | 41% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Essay Collections
- Letters & Correspondence
- Diaries & Journals Collection
- Medieval Collections
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Speeches Collection
- Women Authors Collections
- Themed Literary Collections
- Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism
- Authors
- Italo Calvino
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- December 16, 2014
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Personal meaning of classics · Fresh perspectives on literary works
- Reading lane
- Essay Collections