Invisible Cities
Back of Book
"Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else." In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo—Mongol emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts his host with stories of the cities he has seen in his travels around the empire: cities and memory, cities and desire, cities and designs, cities and the dead, cities and the sky, trading cities, hidden cities. As Marco Polo unspools his tales, the emperor detects these fantastic places are more than they appear.
We Love It Because
“Every time I describe a city, I am saying something about Venice,” proclaims the traveler Marco Polo describing his adventures to the emperor Kublai Khan. In Calvino’s magical prose poems, cities around the world come to life with the spirit of the watery Venice in their hearts, with motifs that produce a traceable arc of love, immediately recognizable to those who find themselves restless when they’re in one place for too long. Calvino’s masterpiece is a tug of war between the yearning for home in other places, and the desire to traverse landscapes of the unknown.
Memorable Passage
The hell of the living isn’t something that will be; if there is one, it’s the one that already exists, the hell that we live every day, that we create by being together. There are two ways to not suffer from it. The first is easy for many: accepting this hell and becoming part of it to the point that you cannot see it anymore. The second is risky and it requires constant vigilance and learning: seeking and being able to recognize who and what, in this hell, isn’t hell, and make it last, and give it space
About the Author
Italo Calvino (1923–1985) was an influential Italian novelist and short story writer, widely recognized for his innovative and imaginative contributions to world literature. Born in Cuba and raised in Italy, Calvino's literary career spanned several decades, and he played a pivotal role in the literary movement known as neorealism before evolving into a more experimental and fantastical style. His works, such as Invisible Cities, If on a winter's night a traveler, and the Cosmicomics series, showcase his mastery of narrative experimentation, blending elements of fantasy, science fiction, and postmodernism. Calvino's ability to transcend conventional genres and challenge the boundaries of storytelling makes him worth knowing for those who appreciate literature that explores the intersection of philosophy, linguistics, and the limitless possibilities of the human imagination. His legacy endures as an inspiration for writers and readers alike, emphasizing the importance of intellectual curiosity and the boundless potential of literary creativity.
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