“A couple on an epicurean journey across Mexico are excited by the idea of a particular ingredient, suggested by ancient rituals of human sacrifice. Precariously balanced on his throne, a king is able only to listen to the sounds around him – sure that any deviation from their normal progression would mean the uprising of the conspirators that surround him. And three different men search desperately for the beguiling scents of lost women, from a Count visiting Madame Odile’s perfumery, to a London drummer stepping over spent, naked bodies.”
https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/57598/under-the-jaguar-sun/
More beautiful writing from Calvino. These stories come from late in his writing career, perhaps from amongst the last things her wrote, and apparently were to form part of a larger, more ambitious collection, that somehow encompassed the five senses and then reached beyond in order to delineate the different ways we engage with the world. But regardless of such an ambition, these three stories – which could be said to represent the sense of taste, hearing and smell – are little masterpieces in themselves, each one providing clear evidence of Calvino’s mastery of the form. But more than that: Calvino always has something to say, and it’s always subtle, insightful and thought provoking.
Lots more Calvino to read!
Mr A
A Useful Fiction 