Set in Italy in the summer of 1940, this trio of stories explores the relationsh
ips 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 f
riends take a revealingly anti-climactic trip to the garrisoned French town of M
enton, 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, whe
re the narrator's imagination wanders as he roams through the seedier parts of t
he darkened town instead of guarding the school buildings.
"Into the War" is
Calvino at his autobiographical best, combining brilliantly recollected memory w
ith compelling wit and perfect prose.
