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The Nonexistent Knight and The Cloven Viscount
Two novellas: the first, a parody of medieval knighthood told by a nun; the second, a fantasy about a nobleman bisected into his good and evil halves. “Bravura pieces... executed with brilliance and brio”(Chicago Tribune). Translated by Archibald Colquhoun. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
Originally published as two distinct volumes: 'Il visconte dimezzato' (1952) and 'Il cavaliere inesistente' (1959). Also published in a single volume with 'The baron in the trees' (Il barone rampante, 1957) as 'Our Ancestors' (I nostri antenati, 1960).
Originally published as two distinct volumes: 'Il visconte dimezzato' (1952) and 'Il cavaliere inesistente' (1959). Also published in a single volume with 'The baron in the trees' (Il barone rampante, 1957) as 'Our Ancestors' (I nostri antenati, 1960).
246 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
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4279 people want to read
About the author
Italo Calvino
546 books8,906 followersItalo Calvino was born in Cuba and grew up in Italy. He was a journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy (1952-1959), the Cosmicomics collection of short stories (1965), and the novels Invisible Cities (1972) and If On a Winter's Night a Traveler (1979).
His style is not easy to classify; much of his writing has an air reminiscent to that of fantastical fairy tales (Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics), although sometimes his writing is more "realistic" and in the scenic mode of observation (Difficult Loves, for example). Some of his writing has been called postmodern, reflecting on literature and the act of reading, while some has been labeled magical realist, others fables, others simply "modern". He wrote: "My working method has more often than not involved the subtraction of weight. I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language."
His style is not easy to classify; much of his writing has an air reminiscent to that of fantastical fairy tales (Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics), although sometimes his writing is more "realistic" and in the scenic mode of observation (Difficult Loves, for example). Some of his writing has been called postmodern, reflecting on literature and the act of reading, while some has been labeled magical realist, others fables, others simply "modern". He wrote: "My working method has more often than not involved the subtraction of weight. I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language."
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April 30, 2021I haven't laughed at an idea expressed in a very subtle way - for a long time. An absurd literature can be read with pleasure, when it takes a new look, on a contemporary reality, with humour and irony of the best quality.
Calvino's story tells the story of the ideal man, whose only flaw is that he does not exist.
From the first pages, my patience was put to the test, Calvino starting from an inconceivable premise, taking into account the justification that the knight brings in support of his existence, despite the non-existence of his body, and wich is one of a spiritual order, it existing exclusively by the power of the will.
Given the position of the character, who realizes that no one loves him precisely because of his perfection, the whole story seems to me conceived in a quite ironic note. The knight is the symbol of divinity, which - although immaterial - complexes mortals through the perfection of his appearance.
The novel becomes even more funny at the moment of the appearance of an inverse of the knight ,Gurdulu , the character who - although he has a body - does not exist. For a practicioner in theology, his presence could easily be likened to that of the devil in a permanent metamorphosis. The union of the two only results in some of the funniest messes. The characters manage to carry you through the entire history of literature and philosophy - in an absolutely delightful way.
Whether you think of Bible, Plato or Kant, the novel always surprises through interpretations that give new dimensions to a remarkable text.
" No, writing has not changed me for the better at all. I have merely used up part of my restless, conscienceless youth. What value to me will these discontented pages be ? The book, the vow, are worth no more than one is worth oneself. One can never be sure of saving one's soul by writing. One may go writing on and on with a soul already lost. "
That says a lot about Calvino, the man.
Calvino's story tells the story of the ideal man, whose only flaw is that he does not exist.
From the first pages, my patience was put to the test, Calvino starting from an inconceivable premise, taking into account the justification that the knight brings in support of his existence, despite the non-existence of his body, and wich is one of a spiritual order, it existing exclusively by the power of the will.
Given the position of the character, who realizes that no one loves him precisely because of his perfection, the whole story seems to me conceived in a quite ironic note. The knight is the symbol of divinity, which - although immaterial - complexes mortals through the perfection of his appearance.
The novel becomes even more funny at the moment of the appearance of an inverse of the knight ,Gurdulu , the character who - although he has a body - does not exist. For a practicioner in theology, his presence could easily be likened to that of the devil in a permanent metamorphosis. The union of the two only results in some of the funniest messes. The characters manage to carry you through the entire history of literature and philosophy - in an absolutely delightful way.
Whether you think of Bible, Plato or Kant, the novel always surprises through interpretations that give new dimensions to a remarkable text.
" No, writing has not changed me for the better at all. I have merely used up part of my restless, conscienceless youth. What value to me will these discontented pages be ? The book, the vow, are worth no more than one is worth oneself. One can never be sure of saving one's soul by writing. One may go writing on and on with a soul already lost. "
That says a lot about Calvino, the man.
September 20, 2017
شوالیه ناموجود هم یکی دیگر از شاهکارهای رمان پست مدرنیستی است که باز بر پایه اصل پارودی یا نقیضه سرایی شکل گرفته
March 15, 2018
This is a very sweet, beautifully written, and most importantly, short book. It is exactly the right length, and that is something it is hard to be. Most things are either slightly too long or somewhat too short. It lasts exactly the length that its ideas and the beauty of its prose can sustain and then exits gracefully, leaving a fond memory.
After crawling through the Faerie Queen for months, the Non-Existent Knight is like being given a glass of clear water after being forced to eat honey for days. Its rare that irony doesn't tire or irritate me after a while. Measure, in excess, is a lumpy lead whip, but here consideration, and distance mix with affection and immediacy to pleasing affect.
The translation is by Archibald Colquhoun, who lives up to his magnificent name. The prose ranges from good to exceptional.
"I long to hurry on with my story, tell it quickly, embellish every page with enough duels and battles for a poem; but when I pause and start rereading I realise my pen has left no mark on the paper and the pages are blank.
To tell it was I would like this blank page would have to bristle with reddish rocks, flake with pebbly sand, sprout sparse juniper trees. In the midst, on a twisting ill-marked trac, I would set Agilulf, passing erect on his saddle, lance at rest. But this page would have to be not only a rocky slope but the dome of the sky above, slung so low that there is room only for a flight of cawing rooks in between. With my pen I should also trace faint dents in the paper to represent the slither of an invisible snake through grass or a hare crossing a heath, suddenly coming into the clear, stopping, sniffing around through its short whiskers, then vanishing again."
The primary story is about Agilulf Emo Bertrandin of the Guildivern and of the Others of Corbentraz and Sura, Knight of Slimpia Citeriore and Fez, a knight who is an empty suit of perfectly white and perfectly maintained armour sustained only by "will power .. and faith in our holy cause!", and about a range of chivalric characters who orbit around him and intersect with his path.
The second is about the Viscount Medardo, who is blown into exactly two equal pieces by a turkish cannon, with both surviving separately, and, at first, unknown to each other. One of the pieces is entirely good and the other entirely bad. If you've seen that episode of Star Trek then you get the gist.
The tragi-comic character of Agilulf dominates the memory of the tale, a man, or thing, who believes absolutely that he is an Knight, and so is, sustained only by that belief. At dusk he obsessively arranges pine cones in perfect triangles and arranges further geometries, to fend of the vagaries of indeterminate shadow which fret at his will. He feasts with Charlemagne as, since he is afforded a chair due to his rank, he *must* attend, and occupies himself in endless and precise divisions and re-arrangements of food into ever smaller crumbs and parcels, before ordering the remains taken away and more brought.
He is a modern character and reminds us of a lot of the quasi-robotic, hyper-logical, rule-obsessed contextless characters we remember from genre fiction.
The most charming scene involves his attempted (well, actual) seduction by the Widow Priscilla in which the humanless man bends ever-so-slightly in his measured existence and twists his tables of knowledge and response-algorithms in such as way as to come as close as he can to the image of the romantic knight. It is a scene and situation, with a mood and a fineness that could occur nowhere else but in this book.
The women are interesting, especially in The Cloven Viscount, the character of Pamela, who the story finds; "as she lay, plump and barefoot, in a simple pink dress, face downwards in the grass, dozing, chatting to the goats and sniffing flowers.
It is a surprisingly sexy book. There is a lot of boning, a lot of women wanting sex and a rather practical attitude to the possibility of sexual violence that might worry the more sensitive modern reader.
The Cloven Viscount has what should really be considered some strong horror elements, but the mood, tone and feel of the story never slip into actual fear, maintaining a combination of calm measured affectionate detachment and a kind of butter-drenched Ray Bradbury-esque summery nostalgia, which conflicts with the actions in the story in ways I'm sure are a deliberate, or at least accepted, part of the design.
The ideas in both books are held lightly. Again, if you've seen a lot of scinece fiction, you've got the basics. This is better and more elengant than the basics though.
I'm not sure if Calvino is a natural genre writer born into a literary culture or class, and if he is I'm not sure if that's a tragedy or not, but he seems to have made the best of the situation.
After crawling through the Faerie Queen for months, the Non-Existent Knight is like being given a glass of clear water after being forced to eat honey for days. Its rare that irony doesn't tire or irritate me after a while. Measure, in excess, is a lumpy lead whip, but here consideration, and distance mix with affection and immediacy to pleasing affect.
The translation is by Archibald Colquhoun, who lives up to his magnificent name. The prose ranges from good to exceptional.
"I long to hurry on with my story, tell it quickly, embellish every page with enough duels and battles for a poem; but when I pause and start rereading I realise my pen has left no mark on the paper and the pages are blank.
To tell it was I would like this blank page would have to bristle with reddish rocks, flake with pebbly sand, sprout sparse juniper trees. In the midst, on a twisting ill-marked trac, I would set Agilulf, passing erect on his saddle, lance at rest. But this page would have to be not only a rocky slope but the dome of the sky above, slung so low that there is room only for a flight of cawing rooks in between. With my pen I should also trace faint dents in the paper to represent the slither of an invisible snake through grass or a hare crossing a heath, suddenly coming into the clear, stopping, sniffing around through its short whiskers, then vanishing again."
The primary story is about Agilulf Emo Bertrandin of the Guildivern and of the Others of Corbentraz and Sura, Knight of Slimpia Citeriore and Fez, a knight who is an empty suit of perfectly white and perfectly maintained armour sustained only by "will power .. and faith in our holy cause!", and about a range of chivalric characters who orbit around him and intersect with his path.
The second is about the Viscount Medardo, who is blown into exactly two equal pieces by a turkish cannon, with both surviving separately, and, at first, unknown to each other. One of the pieces is entirely good and the other entirely bad. If you've seen that episode of Star Trek then you get the gist.
The tragi-comic character of Agilulf dominates the memory of the tale, a man, or thing, who believes absolutely that he is an Knight, and so is, sustained only by that belief. At dusk he obsessively arranges pine cones in perfect triangles and arranges further geometries, to fend of the vagaries of indeterminate shadow which fret at his will. He feasts with Charlemagne as, since he is afforded a chair due to his rank, he *must* attend, and occupies himself in endless and precise divisions and re-arrangements of food into ever smaller crumbs and parcels, before ordering the remains taken away and more brought.
He is a modern character and reminds us of a lot of the quasi-robotic, hyper-logical, rule-obsessed contextless characters we remember from genre fiction.
The most charming scene involves his attempted (well, actual) seduction by the Widow Priscilla in which the humanless man bends ever-so-slightly in his measured existence and twists his tables of knowledge and response-algorithms in such as way as to come as close as he can to the image of the romantic knight. It is a scene and situation, with a mood and a fineness that could occur nowhere else but in this book.
The women are interesting, especially in The Cloven Viscount, the character of Pamela, who the story finds; "as she lay, plump and barefoot, in a simple pink dress, face downwards in the grass, dozing, chatting to the goats and sniffing flowers.
It is a surprisingly sexy book. There is a lot of boning, a lot of women wanting sex and a rather practical attitude to the possibility of sexual violence that might worry the more sensitive modern reader.
The Cloven Viscount has what should really be considered some strong horror elements, but the mood, tone and feel of the story never slip into actual fear, maintaining a combination of calm measured affectionate detachment and a kind of butter-drenched Ray Bradbury-esque summery nostalgia, which conflicts with the actions in the story in ways I'm sure are a deliberate, or at least accepted, part of the design.
The ideas in both books are held lightly. Again, if you've seen a lot of scinece fiction, you've got the basics. This is better and more elengant than the basics though.
I'm not sure if Calvino is a natural genre writer born into a literary culture or class, and if he is I'm not sure if that's a tragedy or not, but he seems to have made the best of the situation.
January 1, 2014
World conditions were still confused in the era when this took place. It was not rare then to find names and thoughts and forms and institutions that corresponded to nothing in existence. But at the same time the world was polluted with objects and capacities and persons who lacked any name or distinguishing mark. It was a period when the will and determination to exist, to leave a trace, to rub up against all that existed, was not wholly used since there were many who did nothing about it--from poverty or ignorance or simply from finding things bearable as they were--and so a certain amount was lost into the void. Maybe too there came a point when this diluted will and consciousness of self was condensed, turned to sediment, as imperceptible watery particles condense into banks of clouds; and then maybe this sediment merged by chance or instinct, with some name or family or military rank or duties or regulations, above all in an empty armor, for in times when armor was necessary even for a man who existed, how much f themore was it for one who didn't. Thus it was that Agilulf of the Guildivern had begun to act and acquire glory for himself.
When I love Italo Calvino, I really love him. It is for the witty way that he plays with narrative, the playful way he can dip in and out of reality. This book was nice taste of what I like about him. It combines two novellas which, along with a third story not included in this edition, make up the collection Our Ancestors: The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Non-Existent Knight. The first, from which the above excerpt is taken, tells of a knight who is simply an empty suit of armor. He's a very perfect and successful suit of armor, but he can't eat or sleep or do anything a normal knight could do. And when he finds that his knighthood may rest on an error, so that his rank and accomplishments may not be real either, he is sent into a rather understandable identity crisis which leads to a major quest. Some of the scenes in this novella could easily be source material for some of the vignettes in Monty Python's Holy Grail (it's been too long since I've read Arthurian legend to know if some of them go back that far). The second novella is about a Viscount who is cut in two in a battle. The half people can find is stitched up on the field by battle surgeons and returns home, but turns out to be quite nasty and evil. Later, the other half, which is all good, but in some ways equally problematic, shows up as well, having survived after all. This is an amusing meditation on the different sides of each of us, and what it might be like if either existed, unbalanced and alone. I look forward to reading the third novel in the set, which I have under separate cover, waiting on my shelves.
When I love Italo Calvino, I really love him. It is for the witty way that he plays with narrative, the playful way he can dip in and out of reality. This book was nice taste of what I like about him. It combines two novellas which, along with a third story not included in this edition, make up the collection Our Ancestors: The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Non-Existent Knight. The first, from which the above excerpt is taken, tells of a knight who is simply an empty suit of armor. He's a very perfect and successful suit of armor, but he can't eat or sleep or do anything a normal knight could do. And when he finds that his knighthood may rest on an error, so that his rank and accomplishments may not be real either, he is sent into a rather understandable identity crisis which leads to a major quest. Some of the scenes in this novella could easily be source material for some of the vignettes in Monty Python's Holy Grail (it's been too long since I've read Arthurian legend to know if some of them go back that far). The second novella is about a Viscount who is cut in two in a battle. The half people can find is stitched up on the field by battle surgeons and returns home, but turns out to be quite nasty and evil. Later, the other half, which is all good, but in some ways equally problematic, shows up as well, having survived after all. This is an amusing meditation on the different sides of each of us, and what it might be like if either existed, unbalanced and alone. I look forward to reading the third novel in the set, which I have under separate cover, waiting on my shelves.
April 29, 2010
Calvino is my master. There is no better writer of tales. I really have to give credit to this Archibald Colquhoun, who translated most of what I've read by the man.
'The Nonexistent Knight' is Calvino's funniest story. A perfectionist knight, an empty suit of armor, can only retain being from constant organization and thoughtfulness. Just thinking of this character's precision makes me smile. He sits at table with other knights, mincing his food into neat rows that he stacks and reorganizes, shifting wine from glass to glass, constantly ordering clean plates, all because he has no mouth or stomach with which to eat, and all the while correcting his knighted colleagues. Without a doubt, this story has the funniest seduction in the history of literature, involving a lusty noblewoman who lures knights to her castle via staged bear attack, who then proceeds to make love to a man who doesn't exist, a suit of armor that spends most of the time moving the bed for the right light.
'The Cloven Viscount' is a more gruesome story. A man's cruel side survives being separated from the rest of himself by cannonball. He hops around his homeland, administering violence, halving things with his sword so that they resemble himself.
This is all part of a trilogy that is sometimes called 'Our Ancestors' which includes the equally wonderful 'The Baron In The Trees'. Reading Calvino just makes me feel incredible, especially these novels.
'The Nonexistent Knight' is Calvino's funniest story. A perfectionist knight, an empty suit of armor, can only retain being from constant organization and thoughtfulness. Just thinking of this character's precision makes me smile. He sits at table with other knights, mincing his food into neat rows that he stacks and reorganizes, shifting wine from glass to glass, constantly ordering clean plates, all because he has no mouth or stomach with which to eat, and all the while correcting his knighted colleagues. Without a doubt, this story has the funniest seduction in the history of literature, involving a lusty noblewoman who lures knights to her castle via staged bear attack, who then proceeds to make love to a man who doesn't exist, a suit of armor that spends most of the time moving the bed for the right light.
'The Cloven Viscount' is a more gruesome story. A man's cruel side survives being separated from the rest of himself by cannonball. He hops around his homeland, administering violence, halving things with his sword so that they resemble himself.
This is all part of a trilogy that is sometimes called 'Our Ancestors' which includes the equally wonderful 'The Baron In The Trees'. Reading Calvino just makes me feel incredible, especially these novels.
May 27, 2016
Pleasant enough but didn't really grab my attention
This book comprises two novellas set in medieval or late medieval times. The first is about an empty suit of armour which may just be the best knight in all of Christendom.
I much preferred the second story whereby a nobleman gets sliced in two when fighting the Turks and becomes the ultimate "good cop/bad cop"
Playfulness and humour as ever from Mr C but a bit meh
This book comprises two novellas set in medieval or late medieval times. The first is about an empty suit of armour which may just be the best knight in all of Christendom.
I much preferred the second story whereby a nobleman gets sliced in two when fighting the Turks and becomes the ultimate "good cop/bad cop"
Playfulness and humour as ever from Mr C but a bit meh
September 10, 2025
Really enjoyed my first Calvino book! I added this book to my list because I read the synopsis of “The Nonexistent Knight” and was very attracted to its premise. However, the rabelaisian humor and wit of “The Cloven Viscount” surprised and appealed to me a lot more in a strange, inimitable, and inexplicable way (probably bc of where I am in life right now). Of course, while Calvino isn’t very subtle with exploring the themes of either novella, his narrative tone and cadence evoke a tender nostalgia for children’s fairytales that I find nevertheless very warm and profound. Highlight from this year!
May 6, 2022
Loved it!
December 24, 2009
Calvino's blend of fantastic whimsy bordering on absurdism is always entertaining but then you're taken a bit by surprise as a fairly thought-provoking philosophical or moral critique emerges. "The Cloven Viscount" opposes excessive badness with excessive goodness, "The Nonexistent Knight" parodies Renaissance tales of courtly conduct (Quixote-style) as it actually discusses the nature of being and non-being.
April 3, 2022
Really good, functions both as funny deconstructions of folktale form and viable folktales unto themselves with great cultural specificity and sense of place . Me now whenever I read a Calvino book:
https://youtu.be/MF3Hg6FBBSU
https://youtu.be/MF3Hg6FBBSU
January 1, 2022
I will never get over how enchanting each piece of work Calvino produces is. These two stories round out the “Our Ancestors” trilogy, the first piece of work being Baron in the Trees. The Cloven Viscount is clever and funny, while The Nonexistent Knight is detailed and satisfying. The fable-like writing of the stories lean into messages of morality, status, and pride. His work is never short of brilliant.
October 1, 2023
Nonexistent Knight 3/5 stars - I don't think I understand what was going on with this. The framing was not my favorite thing, and Charlemagne was exceedingly eccentric. I chuckled a few times, but it was just strange.
Cloven Viscount 3.5/5 stars - Legitimately funny. Interesting presentation of the duality of man. The narrator has some stuff to figure out about himself…
Cloven Viscount 3.5/5 stars - Legitimately funny. Interesting presentation of the duality of man. The narrator has some stuff to figure out about himself…
February 27, 2022
I wrote a review for this one but goodreads ate it. the UI for this app fucken sucks
November 13, 2011
I had tried to read another book by Calvino before, and could not get through the first ten pages. This time I was determined; I heard these two tales were his best, etc. Well, I struggled through them and made it, but I am not sure if I will ever read Calvino again. The writing did seem clunky, and I also wondered if this is due to translation, early career, or just simply a stylistic choice on Calvino's part. When the language is not there, it is hard to find the motivation to continue for me, at least in fiction. One good thing I can say, though, is that there are some gems here and there; some sentences are delightful in their concise wisdom.
The first tale is certainly the more humorous of the two. I kept thinking if only the Monty Python would adapt it to the screen, it would be hilarious. (Oh, wait, The Holy Grail!) The second tale seemed more moralistic. But with both, it is not clear what Calvino is trying to do, trying to say, and where the story is going at any given point. In the end, you get somewhere, but it is either too predictable - and after such an unpredictable ride, it is strange that the end be so trite - or too eh, whatever.
In the end, the stories suffered from exactly the same ailment that haunts some films of Terry Gilliam. Like the Adventures of Baron Munchausen or The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, where the fantastical images and ideas float about, bumping into each other, not quite making much sense, and dragging on for a while before they puff out in exhaustion, the Nonesixtent Knight, but especially the Cloven Viscount puff out and away, out of memory.
The first tale is certainly the more humorous of the two. I kept thinking if only the Monty Python would adapt it to the screen, it would be hilarious. (Oh, wait, The Holy Grail!) The second tale seemed more moralistic. But with both, it is not clear what Calvino is trying to do, trying to say, and where the story is going at any given point. In the end, you get somewhere, but it is either too predictable - and after such an unpredictable ride, it is strange that the end be so trite - or too eh, whatever.
In the end, the stories suffered from exactly the same ailment that haunts some films of Terry Gilliam. Like the Adventures of Baron Munchausen or The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, where the fantastical images and ideas float about, bumping into each other, not quite making much sense, and dragging on for a while before they puff out in exhaustion, the Nonesixtent Knight, but especially the Cloven Viscount puff out and away, out of memory.
September 16, 2025
Not my favorite Calvino, but even some lukewarm Calvino does more than many writers ever manage in their entire careers. The first novella, Knight, is probably the stronger of the two overall. As the title already suggests, Calvino presents a deconstruction of the myth and mythology of the chivalrous knight. In it, we follow a knight who is literally a mobile, talking empty suit of armor, but as he acts on the ideal of chivalry and honor, the comment here is clearly that he is a knight who could not actually exist. Through the other main characters, notably a young nobleman recently plunged into war and a woman knight, Calvino offers a much more weighed down and tempered view of these days of yore, exaggerated of course with committees to determine who may pursue vengeance and how, as well as the toll taken on peasants, though even in exaggeration Calvino's representation rings as far more likely than the romanticized versions in those stodgy tomes. The story falls victim to some conventions in the end rather than wholly reinvent the knight fable, but overall a very interesting read.
The second novella, The Cloven Viscount, follows a man who had been literally split in two during war, and how the surviving half comes back home a changed man. There are some interesting moves, but overall it feels a little less inventive than the first novella. And while both have touches of Calvino philosophies, which are often surprising and profound in their brevity, neither carries the level of Calvino prose that I tend to cherish in reading him.
The second novella, The Cloven Viscount, follows a man who had been literally split in two during war, and how the surviving half comes back home a changed man. There are some interesting moves, but overall it feels a little less inventive than the first novella. And while both have touches of Calvino philosophies, which are often surprising and profound in their brevity, neither carries the level of Calvino prose that I tend to cherish in reading him.
October 22, 2008
Italo Calvino is a brilliant comic writer, and I love reading his tales, which seem plucked from the Italian countryside. He's not afraid to be bizarre, too, as in the first story, which recounts the exploits of an animate suit of armor in Charlemagne's army--so dignified and courteous, yet ambivalent of his own nonexistence. His love scenes, creaking in full, hollow armor, are quite funny. The second story involves a viscount who gets torn in half by a cannonball while fighting the Ottoman Turks. One half returns home in a wicked state, while the other half returns, entirely virtuous. Now, at times while reading I wonder, why didn't I think of this? With Italo Calvino, that's never a worry. The stories gallop towards you from a great distance and a strange land, but the warmth of the voice and its gentle, ironic humor, are enough to tickle you up-close.
October 20, 2022
I loved this.
The Nonexistent Knight: Self-referential, postmodern, beautiful story, and weird narrator.
The Cloven Viscount: Regular story, no fancy techniques, interesting topic.
All in all, The Nonexistent Knight >> The Cloven Viscount.
The Nonexistent Knight: Self-referential, postmodern, beautiful story, and weird narrator.
The Cloven Viscount: Regular story, no fancy techniques, interesting topic.
All in all, The Nonexistent Knight >> The Cloven Viscount.
May 24, 2021
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
August 21, 2018
In truth, I round up because this is Calvino...this was probably closer to a 3.5, but on the higher side of that number (perhaps I am getting to granular about my star-ratings?).
This was the second of three Calivno books I picked up at the "Swap Shop" at the Rockport, MA dump summer of 2018.
I enjoyed these two novellas, but neither struck me as powerfully as perhaps I had hoped. Both tales were wonderfully bizarre (I enjoyed the Non-existent Knight a little more as it wasnt as macabre and twisted/cruel as the Cloven Viscount could be). Both had similar pacing, in that they both took a little time to gain some momentum. I liked the narrator's perspective in the Cloven Viscount, but am not sure it really added much to the overall tale.
This review is a little disjointed, perhaps because I was not gripped by an overall theme or message that either tale emparted. The Non-existent Knight touched on universal themes and hinted at a wonderful metaphor for the human existence (in the way that the best fables can)...but it didn't quite get there for me. Perhaps at another time or place of reading it would. The same is true ofthe Cloven Viscount...although the yin/yang theme within each of us was apparent enough that even I am not dense enough to ignore it. What didn't come through was what to do with that observation...and perhaps the answer is that there is nothing to be 'done.'
Anyway, I will say that the Viscount had one of the best closing lines of any work I have read recently. It is worth it for that line, if nothing else.
This was the second of three Calivno books I picked up at the "Swap Shop" at the Rockport, MA dump summer of 2018.
I enjoyed these two novellas, but neither struck me as powerfully as perhaps I had hoped. Both tales were wonderfully bizarre (I enjoyed the Non-existent Knight a little more as it wasnt as macabre and twisted/cruel as the Cloven Viscount could be). Both had similar pacing, in that they both took a little time to gain some momentum. I liked the narrator's perspective in the Cloven Viscount, but am not sure it really added much to the overall tale.
This review is a little disjointed, perhaps because I was not gripped by an overall theme or message that either tale emparted. The Non-existent Knight touched on universal themes and hinted at a wonderful metaphor for the human existence (in the way that the best fables can)...but it didn't quite get there for me. Perhaps at another time or place of reading it would. The same is true ofthe Cloven Viscount...although the yin/yang theme within each of us was apparent enough that even I am not dense enough to ignore it. What didn't come through was what to do with that observation...and perhaps the answer is that there is nothing to be 'done.'
Anyway, I will say that the Viscount had one of the best closing lines of any work I have read recently. It is worth it for that line, if nothing else.
July 25, 2022
"The Nonexistent Knight and The Cloven Viscount" are my first Calvino novellas. I have to admit I am at a bit of a loss on how best to describe them. They remind me a bit of Aesop's fables for adults but they also have some of the same sensibilities and feel of liminality of a gothic novel. They are surprisingly dense thematically and philosophically. They are warm, funny, and absurd. I had a good time reading them and would love to read more of Calvino's work.
"The Nonexistent Knight" about a knight who only exists because he follows the strict codes of knighthood. It is a parody of chivalric tales. I think if I had to explain the concept of 'social construct' to someone I would point to this novella because it expresses the idea perfectly. There is a special place in my heart for Gurdaloo , the man who doesn't realize he exists, and believes "the world is soup."
"Cloven Viscount" is the story of a man that is split down the middle. One half is his good half and the other is his bad half. They both fall in love with the same woman. It is a darkly comedic tale of how inhuman it is to be completely good or completely evil.
I do recommend these novellas. The are quick, fascinating, and so much fun to read.
"The Nonexistent Knight" about a knight who only exists because he follows the strict codes of knighthood. It is a parody of chivalric tales. I think if I had to explain the concept of 'social construct' to someone I would point to this novella because it expresses the idea perfectly. There is a special place in my heart for Gurdaloo , the man who doesn't realize he exists, and believes "the world is soup."
"Cloven Viscount" is the story of a man that is split down the middle. One half is his good half and the other is his bad half. They both fall in love with the same woman. It is a darkly comedic tale of how inhuman it is to be completely good or completely evil.
I do recommend these novellas. The are quick, fascinating, and so much fun to read.
May 6, 2019
These two novellas are aptly named as they completely identify the main characters in each story. The nonexistent knight is a suit of armor who servers under Charlemange and is the most perfect of knights in his actions. When he discovers that the actions that made him a knight might not be true, he sets off to track down the virgin he saved in order to prove his worth. He is followed by his squire who may be the most inept squire ever, a young impressionable knight wanna be, and a female knight who has the hots for the nonexistent knight. The story is narrated by a nun who takes us through these amusing and improbably escapades. I loved this story so much.
The second story is of the cloven viscount who found himself in that situation after being split exactly in half during battle. One half of the viscount returns home where it soon becomes clear that this half is the evil half. Eventually, the other half returns home as well and overwhelms people with his goodness. When the two halves fight a duel to win the hand of a young lady things come to an unusual end.
Both of these stories have Calvino's subtle unique sense of humor that appeals to my funny bone.
The second story is of the cloven viscount who found himself in that situation after being split exactly in half during battle. One half of the viscount returns home where it soon becomes clear that this half is the evil half. Eventually, the other half returns home as well and overwhelms people with his goodness. When the two halves fight a duel to win the hand of a young lady things come to an unusual end.
Both of these stories have Calvino's subtle unique sense of humor that appeals to my funny bone.
July 18, 2018
These two stories, or fables, are mystical and magical, yet utterly earthy and grounded in the physicalities of human experience. They will make you laugh and cry as you find your own fears and longings deciphered somehow, in these pages. To read and re-read.
April 6, 2020
These stories instantly became two of my favorites I've ever read. The Nonexistent Knight is a perfect knight story, and it's absurd and hilarious, reminiscent of Monty Python. The Cloven Viscount is like an odd, gory fairy tale. Yet both are super deep and there's so much to explore.
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February 22, 2023**i only read the nonexistent knight
it was genuinely enjoyable!! very interesting to learn about itaian intellectualism (and calvino's part in it) alongside this text
very happy to read something that isn't about arthur
it was genuinely enjoyable!! very interesting to learn about itaian intellectualism (and calvino's part in it) alongside this text
very happy to read something that isn't about arthur
September 12, 2023
Neither of these hit the highs that Baron in the Trees did for me, but both real solid pieces of satire. Managed to remind me of both Barthelme and The Decameron. Calvino’s catalogue is a real treasure trove
January 31, 2018
I enjoyed the second novella better than the first, but maybe that’s because I had become better acquainted with the humor and style of Calvino. I am looking forward to exploring more.
December 19, 2018
Very witty and humourous. A very pleasant read.
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May 22, 2019Both of these are charmingly whimsical and beautifully written. Calvino resists the temptation to rationalize or explain, and the sensual details of landscape are lovely in both novellas.
December 7, 2023
So fun! Sometimes I forget how silly Italo Calvino can be. Felt reminiscent of childhood stories of princesses and knights without being a children’s story
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