Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Nonexistent Knight

By: Italo Calvino
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $11.17

Buy for $11.17

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

An empty suit of armor is the hero in this witty novella, a picaresque gem - now available in an independent volume for the first time - that brilliantly parodies medieval knighthood.

Set in the time of Charlemagne and narrated by a nun with her own secrets to keep, The Nonexistent Knight tells the story of Agilulf, a gleaming white suit of armor with nothing inside it. A challenge to his honor sends Agilulf on a search through France, England, and North Africa to confirm the chastity of a virgin he saved from rape years earlier.

In the end, after many surprising turns of plot, a closing confession draws this sparkling novella to a perfect finish.

©1959 Giulio Einaudi Editor, S.p.A. (P)2018 Recorded Books
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Nonexistent Knight

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

"Depths turned round to face you." (Rilke)

Exquisite. Fantasy literature, at its best, is the opposite of escapism: It is a vehicle to your own depths. Somehow, Calvino achieves this while employing humor -- which carries its own power and import.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enchantingly humorous story, deliciously read

The reader catches so much playful soulfulness that the author's themes ring both ironic and sincere at the same time. Wonderful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful