''Difficult Loves'' () is a 1970 short story collection by

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, ; ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian novelist and short story writer. His best-known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosm ...

. It concerns love and the difficulty of communication. Some published versions of the English translation by

William Weaver William Fense Weaver (24 July 1923 – 12 November 2013) was an English language translator of modern Italian literature. Weaver was best known for his translations of the work of Umberto Eco, Primo Levi, and Italo Calvino,Bruce Webe"Willi ...

omit a number of the stories, and also include other Calvino stories about the Second World War and postwar period, including those from '' The Crow Comes Last''; some of these were translated by Archibald Colquhoun and Peggy Wright. "The Argentine Ant" and "The Cloud of Smog" (as "Smog") do not appear in this book, but rather in the translated ''The Watcher and Other Stories''. An English translation of "The Adventure of a Skier" was published by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' in their July 3, 2017 issue.

Stories

:''Starred stories are those also included in the incomplete versions of the English translation.''

Difficult Loves

*''The Adventure of a Soldier''* *''The Adventure of a Bandit'' *''The Adventure of a Bather''* *''The Adventure of a Clerk''* *''The Adventure of a Photographer''* *''The Adventure of a Traveler''* *''The Adventure of a Reader''* *''The Adventure of a Nearsighted Man''* *''The Adventure of a Wife'' *''The Adventure of Two Spouses'' *''The Adventure of a Poet''* *''The Adventure of a Skier'' *''The Adventure of a Motorist''

Difficult Life

*''The Argentine Ant'' *''The Cloud of Smog''

Adaptations

The "Adventure of Two Spouses" was loosely adapted into the "Renzo and Luciana" act of ''

Boccaccio '70 ''Boccaccio '70'' is a 1962 comedy anthology film directed by Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Mario Monicelli and Luchino Visconti from an idea by Cesare Zavattini. It consists of four episodes, each by one of the directors, all about ...

''; the "Adventure of a Soldier" appears as one part of '' Of Wayward Love'', a film by

Nino Manfredi Saturnino "Nino" Manfredi (22 March 1921 – 4 June 2004) was an Italian actor, voice actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, comedian, singer, author, radio personality and television presenter. He was one of the most prominent Italian ac ...

References

Short story collections by Italo Calvino 1970 short story collections Giulio Einaudi Editore books {{1970s-story-collection-stub