The Baron in the Trees

This is the story of a young Italian nobleman who, after a disagreement with his parents, climbs a tree and vows never to let his feet touch the ground again. Calvino's masterful, folkloric writing style is possibly the only thing that could temper this ridiculous, whimsical story, sculpting it into an allegory about the power of determination and defiance, and a rousing testament to the courage needed to live life on your own terms - all accompanied by a hunting dachshund with small dog syndrome, of course (Ottimo Massimo 4 lyf yo!). Bloody brilliant. Put me in mind of both A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, and The Wasp Factory by Iain M. Banks.

Cosimo di Rondó, a young adolescent, leads an insipid life as the older son of a minor noble in Italy during the time of Napoleon, subject to the tedious and idiosyncratic rules that govern the lives of all the upper classes. One night Cosimo rebels against his father's instruction to eat the snails served to him, and he strikes out into a tree, vowing never again to touch the earth.

And he doesn't. Instead, he creates a whole new big life for himself, living in the trees, looking out on the world from a vantage point above everything else, considering the world, choosing for himself how he wants to use his time, engaging in adventures with pirates and revolutionaries, reading and discussing important issues with the great minds of his day, romancing women, leading people, all the while finding ways to do all of these things while remaining true to his principle of remaining aloft.

It's a modern fairy tale. It's a Utopia that Cosimo creates for himself. It's a parable. It's a children's story. It's an adventure tale. It's charming and it's clever and it's compelling and it's wise.

A delight.

4,5 stars, hands down. A compelling story of young son of a Baron who, when standing against his fathers authority climbs up in a three and stays in trees the rest of his life. So many interesting angles of life in this relatively short novel. Cosimo stays in the trees for two reasons. Out of love to sinferosa and out of conviction that in order to examine world you have to above it. His ideas go about society go largely unnoticed as people tend to see him as a village idiot. Meanwhile the world around goes gets more violent and confusing..