The Path to the Nest of Spiders

The Path to the Nest of Spiders

First edition (Italian)
Author	Italo Calvino
Original title	Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno
Translator	Archibald Colquhoun
Language	Italian
Publication date	1947
Publication place	Italy
Published in English	1957

The Path to the Nest of Spiders (Italian : Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno) is a 1947 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. The narrative is a coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of World War II. It was Calvino's first novel.

Plot

Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, lives with his sister, a prostitute and spends as much time as he can at a bar where he amuses the adult patrons. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with an Italian partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust. ^[1]

References

1. "The Path to the Spiders' Nests". goodreads.com. 2000-05-30. Retrieved 2020-11-17.

See also

• 1947 in literature
• Italian literature