Calvino's last book of fiction follows Mr Palomar, a thoughtful, slightly anxious man who tries to understand the world by looking closely at it. Short chapters show him watching a wave, a gecko, the sky, a lawn, a shop full of cheeses, or the behaviour of people, and then turning observation into reflection. Funny, precise and gently self-mocking, the book explores attention, knowledge and how to live calmly among things too complicated to grasp fully. It is a quiet, rewarding work that can be read in small sips.