The Castle of Crossed Destinies Audiobook By Italo Calvino cover art

The Castle of Crossed Destinies

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Castle of Crossed Destinies

By: Italo Calvino
Narrated by: Luis Moreno
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $9.45

Buy for $9.45

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

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.

©1969, 1973 Franco Maria Ricci Editore, Giulio Einaudi Editore, S.p.a. (P)2019 Recorded Books Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Metaphysical & Visionary
All stars
Most relevant  
An intriguing technical challenge set by a master but execution is muddled. The work is divided into two parts, each leveraging the archetypes of Tarot cards as narrative building blocks. The eponymous first section, though a bit mechanical at times, is more successful than the second section ‘The Tavern of Crossed Destinies’ which becomes repetitive and unfocused. The author’s note at the end of the book helps to explain the root of this imbalance and Calvino’s method in structuring this text; his note leaves the reader with some empathy toward the flawed result.

TLDR: this shouldn’t be the first Calvino book you read but it’s not terrible. Would recommend for Tarot enthusiasts, maybe.

Uneven but worth listening to if you like Calvino

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.