The Path to the Nest of Spiders
Italo Calvino
 Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, lives with his sister, a prostitute. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with a partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust.