Cosimo, a young eighteenth-century Italian nobleman, rebels by climbing into the trees to remain there for the rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to an arboreal existence and even has love affairs.
Harvest Books
April 1980
228 pages ISBN: 0156106809 Trade Size (reprint) Add to Wish List
Long considered in Europe to be Calvino's finest work, The Baron in the Trees is yet another example of this brilliant Italian writer's gift for fantasy. Set in the eighteenth century, it tells the story of Cosimo, a young Italian nobleman who rebels against parental authority by climbing into the trees and remaining there for the rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to an arboreal existence -- hunts, sows crops, plays games with earth-bound friends, fights forest fires, solves engineering problems, and even manages to have love affairs. He also has time to read and think. His proposal for "an Ideal State in the Trees" is acknowledged by Diderot, and Napoleon pays him homage.
From his perch in the trees, Cosimo sees the age of Voltaire pass by and a new century dawn. His ending is as graceful and unusual as his life has been.
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