'It will be read and re-read not as a treatise but as a story: one of the most extraordinary that has ever been written of the origins of Western self-consciousness' Simon Schama

The marriage of Cadmus and Harmony was the last time the gods of Olympus feasted alongside mortals. What happened in the distant ages preceding it, and in the generations that followed, form the timeless tales of ancient Greek mythology. In this masterful retelling of the myths we think we know, Roberto Calasso illuminates the deepest questions of our existence.

'The kind of book one comes across only once or twice in one's lifetime' Joseph Brodsky

'A perfect work like no other' Gore Vidal

New to Penguin Classics, the international bestseller by one of Europe's pre-eminent literary figures.

About the Author
Roberto Calasso was born in Florence in 1941. An author and publisher, he began working at Adelphi Edizioni from its founding in 1962 and continued as director for fifty years. The Book of All Books is the tenth part of a series that began with The Ruin of Kasch and includes the international bestseller The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony as well as Ka, K., Tiepolo Pink, La Folie Baudelaire, Ardor, The Celestial Hunter and The Unnamable Present. He died in Milan in 2021.

Reviews
Sensuous, dazzlingly intelligent -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Sunday Times *
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony is a perfect work like no other -- Gore Vidal
A brilliant and profound narration -- A.S. Byatt
A masterpiece ... a wonderfully fashioned work of art -- John Banville
Calasso has no equal in the sparkle of his storytelling and the depth of his learning -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *
Enlivening, enthralling, essential: a classic -- Peter Conrad * Observer *



Book Information
ISBN 9780241399200
Author Roberto Calasso
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 303g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 23mm