Matthew Reza

‘NOI SIAMO UNI’: PARADOX IN TOMMASO LANDOLFI’S FANTASTIC LITERATURE

Abstract This article examines paradox as a narrative device of fantastic literature in a selection of Tommaso Landolfi’s stories. It begins with some introductory comments on Landolfi, followed by an exploration of paradox and its relation to fantastic literature and models by critics like Todorov and Chanady. The main body of the essay analyses paradox in La moglie di Gogol (1954), Quattro chiacchiere in famiglia (1966), Un concetto astruso (1966), Parole in agitazione (1968), and Il bacio (1968). Some of these stories rarely receive close attention in criticism, and the goal is to bring to light new readings of Landolfi’s fantastic narrative.