The Path to the Spiders' Nests

It's pretty flawed, but already so charming and impressive for Calvino's debut at (I believe) just 22 years old. Already, there are hints of some of the defining aspects of some of his later works, even when it's clear that he hadn't even remotely found his voice yet. Characters were caricatures, didn't really feel like a book he meant to write (more so that he wanted to have written a book like this, if you know what I mean), etc.

It's a very fascinating read for Calvino fans.