#Italo calvino under the jaguar sun series

This is most obvious in вЂњUnder the Jaguar SunвЂќ when the couple encounters Salustiano who becomes a sort of guide. Like a magician, one of the ways Calvino does this is by telling you what heвЂ™s going to do to you before he does it. The art of writing, in the hands of masters, is about manipulating the experience of the reader so the words you put on the page evoke what you want them to, even though each person brings his or her lifetime of connotations into their reading of it. The way the story unfolds is a huge part of the magic, so that I will not spoil here. The story plays with the power of our sense of smell to provoke memory and also the way that memory sometimes shifts as we recall it. The third story, вЂњThe Name, the NoseвЂќ captures the ineffable magic of scent as a man seeks to find the woman who so bewitched him with her perfume. вЂњEpigraphs in an undecipherable language, half their letters rubbed away y the sand-laden wind: this is what you will be, O parfumeries, for the noseless man of the future.вЂќ вЂ“ Italo Calvino, вЂњThe Name, the Nose.вЂќ It played with the fleeting nature of hearing and how we interpret the implications of what people tell us. The way the focus of the narration shifts from quotidian advice to implications of rumor that breed suspicion and paranoia is flat-out brilliant. The story is gorgeous and well-written, which IвЂ™ll go into more in a moment, but it didnвЂ™t prepare me at all for вЂњA King Listens.вЂќ That second story is a monologue told in second person to you, the reader, the king. вЂњUnder the Jaguar SunвЂќ is a relatively traditional narrative about a couple visiting Mexico that focuses on taste. I wish I could do it as well as Calvino does and I love the way that his focus shapes the very nature of the story. ItвЂ™s not uncommon in writing workshops to draft a story that focuses on a sense. IвЂ™m somewhat embarrassed to say I didnвЂ™t realize that was the conceit of the book until the end, but that also tells you a bit about how I surrender to Calvino and just let him do whatever he wants with my brain. Although Calvino worked on it over a period of 13 years, he only completed three.

#Italo calvino under the jaguar sun series

This book was conceived as a series of stories that each focus on one sense. If youвЂ™re worried, though, stop reading here and come back and chat with me when youвЂ™ve read the book. IвЂ™ve always loved Calvino, but what he showed me in just a few pages made my work infinitely better.Д«e warned: IвЂ™m going to spoil (a little) some plots in this review, but I donвЂ™t think that will take very much away from the pleasure of reading this book for the first time. I was performing final edits on two manuscripts at the time and if there is ever a time in a writerвЂ™s life that she needs a good book, itвЂ™s during those final edits when you think youвЂ™ve done everything you can to a book and need a little boost. So when my husband gave me Under the Jaguar Sun for Christmas, I thought IвЂ™d stumble on it some day in the future when I really needed a good read.Д«ut something he said about the title story and love and adventure made me read the book just a few days later, and IвЂ™m so glad I did. Italo Calvino is at the top of that list. There are a very few authors whose work I love so much that I covet and then hide their books away so I donвЂ™t read all of them at once.