Numbers in the Dark (and other stories)

Italo Calvino's "Numbers in the Dark (and other stories)" is a collection of short stories written between 1943 and 1984, collected from published stories as well as unpublished (and some uncompleted) manuscripts. Calvino's writing is typically interesting, and this collection of stories is no exception. Some are only a page and a half long, and those I found to be a lot of fun. They are from early in his writing career, and are really surreal - delightfully so. Progressing through the book, and thus the chronology of Calvino's writing, the surrealism is increasingly suffused with political and social commentary. The stories are all very readable - at least, to me.

I'm not going to get overly drawn out - Googling for the title of the collection brings up a pretty good review from someone who's clearly much better equipped to analyze and comment on the collection. Suffice to say, I really liked it.