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For the first time in paperback--a volume of thirty-seven diabolically inventive stories, fables, and "impossible interviews" from one of the great fantasists of the 20th century, displaying the full breadth of his vision and wit. 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.

Calvino is best known as a fabulist, and indeed his writing, nearly always short forms or broken up episodically in the case of his novels Mr. Palomar and Invisible Cities (1978), justifies itself not by character or plot but in moral and meaning. . . . The early pieces, written during the last days of fascism in Italy, reflect a concern with the survival of human relationships in a time of over-weening government and takes a bitter delight in the unpracticed exercise of authority by ordinary men. Later stories reflect on the conflict between imagination and repetitive industrial labor. . . . Later works include an interview with the sole surviving Neaderthal and a chat with Henry Ford about his invasive business practices. These stories reward the patient reader with wisdom, humor, and insight. Highly recommended for collections of literary fiction.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.

Adam Mazmanian, Library Journal, Nov. 1 '95

[This book] presents Calvino's juvenilia with a grab bag of previously untranslated pieces that sample his characteristic styles, from philosophical tale to war vignette to scientific fabulation. What makes this volume worth reading, however, is that it shows him at his most uncharacteristic, at least to us, upsetting the image fostered by the previous books. . . . Tim Parks's translation is perfectly in tune with the various dialects and discourses that Calvino assimilated during his career. By the 80's his supple Italian was tossing off polylingual arpeggios, technical jargons, nonce words. Mr. Parks re-creates the mix of languages while combining standard English with British usages, some colloquial ('Mummy,' 'not by a long chalk'), others antiquated ('wont,' 'woe betide us'). More than accurate and readable, his version is inventive. . . . This collection brings American readers a somewhat different Calvino, more the product of his cultural and political origins in Italy, but as ever a writer of fantasies.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.

Lawrence Venuti, New York Times Book Review, Nov. 26 '95

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