The Nonexistent Knight and The Cloven Viscount
by Italo Calvino
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Sir Agilulf Emo Bertrandin of the Guildivern is a nonexistent knight; however, as Charlemagne puts it, 'for someone who does not exist,' he 'seems in [irksomely] fine form.' The story sounds nutty as so many crazy things are happening as if everything is just fine but once you keep your disbelief at the background and delve into what is really going on, the logic of the story begins to grandiosely emerge.
Sir Agiluf is the envy of the ambitious Raimbaut, is ever-seductive to Bradamante, and i...more
Sir Agiluf is the envy of the ambitious Raimbaut, is ever-seductive to Bradamante, and i...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of myth and fairytales
Last night, I finished the first novella in this book, Calvino's The Nonexistent Night, and as Calvino stands among my favorite novelists, I can't say a bad word about it.
The story revolves around a suit of armor with nothing inside except the nonexistent knight of Charlemagne's army, Agilulf, who (dis)embodies chivalric perfection. With tender wit and subtle humor, Cavlino traces the adventures of Agilulf as he travels throughout Europe and North Africa to prove the chastity of a vi...more
The story revolves around a suit of armor with nothing inside except the nonexistent knight of Charlemagne's army, Agilulf, who (dis)embodies chivalric perfection. With tender wit and subtle humor, Cavlino traces the adventures of Agilulf as he travels throughout Europe and North Africa to prove the chastity of a vi...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Nat by:
Arindam Chakrabarti
I read this because "The Cloven Viscount" was mentioned by the keynote speaker at a philosophy conference last year in relation to me and a certain friend of mine. He said that we reminded him of the cloven viscount of the story. I don't know what to make of that comparison--in the story, the bad half of the Viscount causes all kinds of unnecessary havoc. Maybe the speaker was making a point about the fact that we were being rowdy and disrespectful. I'm not sure.
Also, there's a B...more
Also, there's a B...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
People who get headaches from reading Eco
Two contemporary folk tales by a master fabulist, both set during religious wars with the Turks and both featuring deliciously improbable protagonists. Yet while "The Nonexistent Knight" contained an uproariously funny take on battle and those who partake of it, I found "The Cloven Viscount" to be a much stronger story overall, structurally speaking. Where "Knight"'s high point comes early on and the rest of the story is a kind of travelogue with several twists of v...more
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Read in July, 2002
recommended to Rebecca by:
Guido
Calvino's fascination with the Middle Ages seems almost satirical in these two very tongue-in-cheek novellas. In no way a beach read, these two pseudo-existential stories deal with basic principles of existence (or non-existence) after the fashion of a parable with omniscient narration.
The characters are colorful, although sometimes the development is somewhat open-ended. Calvino molds his characters is such a way that one is not sure with whom to have sympathy. This perhaps is the novelist'...more
The characters are colorful, although sometimes the development is somewhat open-ended. Calvino molds his characters is such a way that one is not sure with whom to have sympathy. This perhaps is the novelist'...more
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Read in November, 2006
I actually only read The Nonexistent Knight for my Arthurian Lit class. We were discussing how knighthood depends on both family and deeds but the knights often had to hide the one to prove the other. The Nonexistent Knight had nothing so he tried to prove his knighthood and chivalry-nous by his deeds but never really progressed. I thought it was a fun story.
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Read in December, 2002
I read it in Italian, so I'm not sure how it comes across in English, but I loved them both.
Totally wacky, but can teach you some important lessons. Not bad for an ex-Stalinist.
Totally wacky, but can teach you some important lessons. Not bad for an ex-Stalinist.
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Cierre de la serie "nuestros antepasados", a mi gusto la más floja de las tres novelas. Sin embargo, está muy bien narrada, y consigue hacerme disfrutar.
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Read in January, 2003
I couldn't get into this one, though most of my group liked it quite well. Not sure, maybe I should give it another try at some point.
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Read in October, 2007
It was beautifully written(/translated). Both short novels are amusing and provoking (in the good way) and deeply satisfying.
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recommends it for:
anyone who like fudge
Yes, that's right. Anyone. The cloven knight is truly every cat you meet, or some other such allegory.
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Simultaneously macabre and Monty-Pythonish, these are two of my favorite short stories of all time.
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Read in November, 2007
The Nonexistent Knight is 4 stars, whereas The Cloven Viscount is more at the 2.5/3 range.
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Read in January, 1998
The Cloven Viscount in the perfect short story (novella). Humorous and darkly moral.
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Read in April, 2007
One can not be just good or just bad.a real person is a mixture of good and evil
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Read in March, 2008
These two fantastical tales are extremely fun, even if slightly predictable.
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I thought this was very entertaining. Easy to read. Funny not hilarious.
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Con fuerza de voluntad se puede todo, hasta existir siendo inexistente.
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Read in November, 2007
The Nonexistent Knight gets 4 stars. The Cloven Viscount gets 2.
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Read in January, 2003
I really like the first story, but the second one, not so much.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.94 (568 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.95 (546 ratings) number of reviews: 24popular shelves
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quote
"If a lover is wretched who invokes kisses of which he knows not the flavor, a thousand times more wretched is he who has had a taste of the flavor and then had it denied him."
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