The Aquatic Uncle by Italo Calvino

The Aquatic Uncle, written by Italo Calvino is easily one of the best stories we have read. In the story, Calvino's narrator, Qfwfq, talks about the moment when he first crawled out of the seas and began life on land. However, his stubborn great-uncle, N'ba N'ga, chose to remain underwater. Qfwfq is a little embarrassed to have a great-uncle who is a fish, and things get worse when his fiancée, Lll, begins admiring the old fellow's determination to preserve his old ways. Abandoning Qfwfq, she dives back into the sea. I think they story speaks a lot about how change does not necessarily guarantee improvement. I can really relate to this story because I often consider my family very conservative, old-fashioned, and sometimes backwards. I understood how Qfwfq felt bringing a girl around his uncle because he did not want his families old way of thinking to be reflected on him.