The Path to the Nest of Spiders
- The Path to the Nest of Spiders
Infobox Book
name = "The Path to the Nest of Spiders"
title_orig = "Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno"
translator = Archibald Colquhoun
image_caption = First edition cover
author = Italo Calvino
illustrator =
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language =
series =
subject =
genre =
publisher = Collins
release_date = 1947
english_release_date = 1957
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pages =
isbn =
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"The Path to the Spiders' Nests" (originally published in 1947 in Italian as "Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno") was the first novel of Italian 20th century writer Italo Calvino and is a "coming of age" story, set against the backdrop of World War II.
The book follows the antihero Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, where he lives with his sister, a prostitute. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi soldier, Pin searches for an identity with a 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.
Some critics view the work as unexceptional, on the grounds that it fails to address the issues other than from a very naive perspective; others credit it with being skillfully written and make a virtue of its portrayal of the complex emotions and politics of adults, as seen through the eyes of a child. However one passage about prisoners-of-war being made to dig their own grave before being shot is universally regarded as impressive.
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