The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico


The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico is a 1987 short story collection by the Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi.

Contents

The stories focus on creating images, often with surreal elements, and sometimes take form as fragments and sketches.
  • "The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico"
  • "Past Composed: Three Letters"
  • * I. "Letter from Dom Sebastião de Avis, King of Portugal, to Francisco Goya, painter"
  • * II. "Letter from Mademoiselle Lenormand, fortune-teller, to Dolores Ibarruri, revolutionary"
  • * II. "Letter from Valypso, a nymph, to Odysseus, King of Ithaca"
  • "The Passion of Dom Pedro"
  • "Message from the Shadows"
  • "'The phrase that follows this is false: the phrase that precedes this is true'"
  • "The Battle of San Romano"
  • "Story of a Non-Existent Story"
  • "The Translation"
  • "Happy People"
  • "The Archives of Macao"
  • "Last Invitation"

Publication

Sellerio Editore published the book in Italian in 1987. The English translation by Tim Parks was first published in 1991 in an omnibus volume together with Tabucchi's short story collections Vanishing Point and The Woman of Porto Pim. The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico was published separately in 2012.

Reception

In 2012, Alan Cheuse of NPR said that The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico is written in a way that "creates a deep, near-profound and sometimes heart-wrenching nostalgia", calling it "wonderfully thought-provoking and beautiful".