There was no Italian equivalent to the Brothers Grimm until Italo Calvino collected these folktales from his homeland which transport the reader into a world of adventurers, tricksters, kings, peasants and saints. One of the main themes to emerge is that of love; love tested by absence and by sorcery, and love that unites the natural world and the supernatural. Retold in Calvinos own inspired and sensuous language, this treasure-trove of folklore is considered a classic. Calvino possesses the power of seeing into the deepest recesses of human minds and bringing their dreams to life. Salman Rushdie, London Review of Books