One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino was one of the first books I heard about on BookTube that sounded really interesting! I was super lucky to find this book used in my local book shop.
When the eldest son of a nervous lower baron gets fed up with his quirky family, he decides to live in the trees and never set foot on the ground again.
The Baron in the Trees is an Italian historical fiction by Italo Calvino written in the 1950s. It takes place in the late 1700s and we are introduced to the Baron’s family one night at dinner. Each family member has their own issues. The dad is a nervous fame and image obsessed aging aristocrat. The mum is ex military and treats everything like a battle. The eldest sister is masochist and subjects the family to weird food and disturbing delicacies. The older brother, Cosimo, is fed up with the whole family, besides his younger brother, Biagio. The youngest brother seems to be the most normal of the bunch. Cosimo leaves the table, takes to the trees and never returns to set foot on the earth again. The rest of the story is told by Biagio as he learns stories from his older brother and tells them to the reader. This book has a fairy tale, or fable-esc feeling to it. It is broken up into smaller stories, some of which build on each other and some that could be considered stand alone adventures. Many of the stories end tragically and over the read can get a little repetitive. I really liked this book and it was interesting to read a modern classic that was translated from the Italian. It was interesting to read a book that encapsulates so many genres that I normally don’t read. Although this is a novel, it almost reads like short stories or fables, it’s a historical fiction, it’s an Italian modern classic. I would recommend The Baron in the Trees to those who like adventure stories, especially those that follow young men coming of age, readers who like fable or fairy tale like stories, any people wanting to read more modern classics not from the USA.
Are you a modern classic fan?
This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.