Viscount Medardo is bisected by a Turkish cannonball on the plains of
Bohemia; Baron Cosimo, at the age of twelve, retires to the trees for the
rest of his days; Charlemagne's knight, Agiluf, is an empty suit of armour.
These three vivid images are the points of departure for Calvino's classic
triptych of moral tales, now published in one volume and all displaying the
exuberant talent of a master storyteller.