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The Path to the Spiders' Nests
The Path to the Spiders' Nests
Oct 11, 2024 10:17 PM

Author:Italo Calvino

The Path to the Spiders' Nests

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.

Reviews

One of Russia's best living writers ... her tales inhabit a borderline between this world and the next

—— The New York Times

Petrushevskaya proves that the literary tradition that produced Dostoyevsky, Gogol and Babel is alive and well

—— The Daily Beast

Strikingly original... The stories in Little Infamies are extraordinary - shocking, colourful and resonant. Panos Karnezis is an entirely individual writer in full command of his material

—— Sunday Times

A deeply impressive collection of short stories

—— Sunday Telegraph

One of the most original American novelists on either side of the Mississippi

—— Time

If you loved Out Stealing Horses, you won’t be disappointed by his razor-sharp debut, which tells the story of Arvid’s childhood … The language is simple, beautiful and cleansed of literary affectation. There is not a single superfluous word

—— Ekstrabladet (Denmark)

These father-son stories bring us the first meeting with one of Nordic literature’s most lovable characters, Arvid Jansen. A mixture of Alfons Åberg, Ingemar from My Life as a Dog and in part Oskar from The Tin Drum ... New readers should begin nowhere but here

—— Euroman (Denmark)

There is both humour and tenderness in Per Petterson’s debut collection from 1987 … Petterson masters the art of writing simply of big subjects. As a reader, you have to read slowly and attentively to register everything, or read the book twice, which you gladly will

—— Kristeligt Dagblad (Norway)

If you loved Out Stealing Horses, you won’t be disappointed by his razor-sharp debut… The language is simple, beautiful and cleansed of literary affectation. There is not a single superfluous word

—— Ekstrabladet (Denmark)

There is both humour and tenderness… Petterson masters the art of writing simply of big subjects. As a reader, you have to read slowly and attentively to register everything, or read the book twice, which you gladly will

—— Kristeligt Dagblad (Norway)

Dreamy and evanescent, [the stories] recall the opening pages of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

—— Jon Michaud , Washington Post

Full of heartache and the ways in which we hurt each other, and ourselves... Fans of Kennedy's quirky expressionism won't be disappointed.

—— Sunday Times

Evidence that, at her best, there’s no-one to touch Kennedy.

—— Neil Stewart , Civilian

Full of challenges and beauty.

—— Stylist

This is a sure-footed and intelligently organized collection. These small pieces encompass an extensive emotional territory

—— Chris Power , Guardian

An arresting collection that blends poetic imagery, raw emotion and cerebral insight

—— Juanita Coulson , Lady

As subtle as the colour of Kitsune's silk

—— M John Harrison , Guardian

Russell is an amazing storyteller, and this book certainly whets the appetite for her next offering

—— Irish Times

‘[Barrett] cuts across all kinds of boundaries of class and education to produce immensely tender portraits of living characters.

—— Anne Enright , Irish Examiner

This is an exceptional debut, and one of the best collection of short stories that I have read in years.

—— Louise O’Neill, 5 stars , Irish Post

An exciting debut

—— Sunday Times

I don’t think I’ve ever read a better collection by somebody I had never heard of

—— William Leith , Evening Standard

A technically-assured collection that never disappoints

—— Country & Town House
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