The non existent knight by Italo Calvino (1959)

Ítalo Calvino is one of the most important Italian fiction writers of the XX Century. (1923-1985). He tells us in this book “The non existent knight” the adventures of Agilulfo Emo Bertrandino dos Guildiverni e dos Altri de Corbentraz e Sura, a non existent knight of Charles Magno court. The history is situated in the medieval times and it is narrated by a nun in a convent who has as a penitence to write the history of Agilulfo. The main character, Agilulfo dresses an armor but actually inside of the armor there is nothing, however one anything with a lot of attitude. The armor of Agilulfo is impeccable and he is methodical and bureaucratic, all this to justify his existence. Since the book treats several subjects in a direct way and in parody style and for the fact that Agilulfo does not exists physically, the book has been largely discussed especially by literary circles and in the psychoanalysis field. There are several scientific articles that use the character as starting point for personality studies. The book makes part of a trilogy "Our ancestors" and it has very funny episodes. For those who didn't read Ítalo Calvino, this is a good beginning.