Set in Italy in the summer of 1940, this trio of stories explores the
relationships between the different generations caught up in the war as
well as Calvino's own experiences as a teenager. In the title story, 'Into
the War', we are given an insight into what life was really like for those
too young to be conscripted into Mussolini's army, while in 'The
Avanguardisti in Menton', Calvino and his friends take a revealingly anti-
climactic trip to the garrisoned French town of Menton, the sole Italian
conquest of the early months of the conflict. The final story, 'UNPA
Nights', is a touching, comic tale of friendship in a blackout, where the
narrator's imagination wanders as he roams through the seedier parts of the
darkened town instead of guarding the school buildings. Into the War is
Calvino at his autobiographical best, combining brilliantly recollected
memory with compelling wit and perfect prose.