The Watcher and Other Stories.

by Calvino, Italo.

$275 · Offered by Biblio

First edition

In "The Watcher," a member of the Communist Party is assigned to a polling place in Turin's Hospital for Incurables, where he observes the rejects of humanity and a grotesque parody of the democratic process. "Smog" anticipates a preoccupation with pollution so lunatic that it casts a pall even over the hero's affair with a beautiful woman. "The Argentine Ant" is a piece of sustained horror with farcical undertones, illustrating man's defeat before an enemy too small to be overcome. "Like Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez, Italo Calvino dreams perfect dreams for us."

• Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
• Year: 1971
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.