April 10 - "Like a Flight of Ducks"

“Like a Flight of Ducks”
by Italo Calvino
Numbers in the Dark (1995)

* * (Okay) Realistic

Natale moves from one side of a war to the other, a simple-minded fool and plaything taken advantage of by each side.

The confusion in Natale’s head likened to a flight of ducks is one of the best similes I’ve come across in a while. If anything, it sounds more refined to picture a flight of ducks when cracked over the head with a stick than to see a chorus of tweeting birds. The problem I had with the story was that I didn’t fully understand it. This could be a combination of a lack of intelligence and a massive headache, but I had no idea what was happening most of the time. Sure, Natale is a simpleton and those around him treat him as a joke, but what’s the point of it all?