At the zoo, Mr. Palomar observes Copito de Nieve, or Snowflake, still the world’s only known albino gorilla. “In the enormous void of his hours,” Copito de Nieve clings to a tire, “a thing with which to allay the anguish of isolation, of difference, of the sentence to being always considered a living phenomenon.”
Italo Calvino, “The albino gorilla.” In Mr. Palomar, trans. William Weaver (New York: Harcourt, 1985).
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Wednesday, April 3, 2024
“An old, empty tire”
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comments: 2
In 1972, I visited the Barcelona zoo and saw the late much-beloved Snowflake. I had a good friend, also departed, who grew up in the area, and it was something we shared.
Way cool! George, if you don't already know this book, I think you would like it.
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