
The Baron in the Trees
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Narrated by:
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Jefferson Mays
About this listen
A landmark new translation of a Calvino classic, a whimsical, spirited novel that imagines a life lived entirely on its own terms.
Cosimo di Rondo, a young Italian nobleman of the 18th century, rebels against his parents by climbing into the trees and remaining there for the rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to an existence in the forest canopy - he hunts, sows crops, plays games with earthbound friends, fights forest fires, solves engineering problems, and even manages to have love affairs. From his perch in the trees, Cosimo sees the Age of Enlightenment pass by and a new century dawn.
The Baron in the Trees exemplifies Calvino's peerless ability to weave tales that sparkle with enchantment. This new English rendering by acclaimed translator Ann Goldstein breathes new life into one of Calvino's most beloved works.
©1957 Giulio Einaudi Editore S.p.A., Torino; 2017 Ana Goldstein (Translation) (P)2018 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Unexpected pleasure
- By Grant on 11-06-20
By: Italo Calvino
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The Castle of Crossed Destinies
- By: Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Luis Moreno
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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A group of travellers chance to meet, first in a castle, then a tavern. Their powers of speech are magically taken from them and instead they have only tarot cards with which to tell their stories. What follows is an exquisite interlinking of narratives, and a fantastic, surreal, and chaotic history of all human consciousness.
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Uneven but worth listening to if you like Calvino
- By Daniel on 02-21-24
By: Italo Calvino
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Hermit in Paris
- Autobiographical Writings
- By: Martin McLaughlin translator, Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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This posthumously published collection offers a unique, puzzle-like portrait of one of the postwar era's most inventive and mercurial writers. In letters and journals, occasional pieces and interviews, Italo Calvino recalls growing up in seaside Italy and fighting in the antifascist resistance during World War II, traces the course of his literary career, and reflects on his many travels, including a journey through the United States in 1959 and 1960.
By: Martin McLaughlin translator, and others
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Under the Jaguar Sun
- By: Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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These intoxicating stories delve down to the core of our senses of taste, hearing, and smell. Amid the flavors of Mexico's fiery chiles and spices, a couple on holiday discovers dark truths about the maturing of desire in the title story, "Under the Jaguar Sun". In "A King Listens", a gripping portrait of a frenzied mind, the menacing echoes in a huge palace spur a tyrant's thoughts to the heights of paranoid intensity. "The Name, the Nose" drives to a startling conclusion as men across time and space pursue the women whose aromas have enchanted them.
By: Italo Calvino
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The 42nd Parallel
- By: John Dos Passos
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This first entry in John Dos Passos's celebrated U.S.A. trilogy paints a grand picture of the United States at the dawn of the twentieth century.
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Powerful document of an all-too-familiar past
- By Ryan on 06-01-13
By: John Dos Passos
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Numbers in the Dark
- And Other Stories
- By: Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Written between 1943 and 1984 and masterfully translated by Tim Parks, the fictions in Numbers in the Dark display all of Calvino's dazzling gifts: whimsy and horror, exuberance of style, and a cheerful grasp of the absurdities of the human condition. Here are speculative stories on life in the digital age, genre-bending wonders, and “impossible interviews” with the likes of Montezuma and a Neanderthal.
By: Italo Calvino
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Il barone rampante
- By: Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Dario Sansalone
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Il narratore ripercorre la lunga vicenda del fratello, Cosimo di Rondò, vissuto nella seconda metà del XVIII secolo a Ombrosa, in Liguria. Cosimo, per sfuggire a una punizione inflittagli dai suoi educatori, decide di salire su un albero per non ridiscendere mai più. Cosimo si costruisce un mondo aereo dove diversi personaggi della cultura e della politica (Napoleone compreso) lo vanno a trovare, testimoniandogli la loro ammirazione. Vive anche una tormentata storia d'amore con la volubile Viola.
By: Italo Calvino
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Mr. Palomar
- By: Italo Calvino
- Narrated by: Luis Moreno
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Mr. Palomar, whose name purposely evokes that of the famous telescope, is a seeker after knowledge, a visionary in a world sublime and ridiculous. Whether contemplating a cheese, a woman's breasts, or a gorilla's behavior, he brings us a vision of a world familiar by consensus, fragmented by the burden of individual perception.
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This is an AMAZING Book!
- By The on 09-13-19
By: Italo Calvino
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Freshwater
- By: Akwaeke Emezi
- Narrated by: Akwaeke Emezi
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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An extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born "with one foot on the other side". Unsettling, heart-wrenching, dark, and powerful, Freshwater is a sharp evocation of a rare way of experiencing the world, one that illuminates how we all construct our identities. Ada begins her life in the south of Nigeria as a troubled baby and a source of deep concern to her family.
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Just ok.
- By Alexa on 07-02-18
By: Akwaeke Emezi
Unusual
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Very odd
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What a fantastic story
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one can visualize the features of this tale readily departing from rationale world
peculiar story line. engaging
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As much as a love Calvino, this isn't one of his best novels. It's episodic, so you have to stay with the author as he unspools his thread. The journey is worth it, but the central narrative conceit wears thin by that time. Still, highly recommended!
A rendition that mostly honors Calvino
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Beautiful
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. Very disappointed in the story.
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Delightfully imaginative and hugely hilarious
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I listened at a higher audio speed which helped. The narrator was above average, I felt.
Interesting Concept
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Jefferson Mays is a great reader.
Calvino has always been on my list. This did not disappoint.
The Baron in the Trees
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