This first novel by the great Italian author is one of the cultural highlights of the immediate post-war period in Italy. It not only made Italo Calvino famous right away but has also retained its freshness and immediacy to this day. The war and the reality of the partisans are told from the perspective of a boy who experiences the war like a dark fairy tale somewhere in Liguria and is magically drawn to the world of adults. However, he is an outsider. Because no one takes him seriously, he tries to attract attention by proving his courage and steals the pistol of a German soldier.