"A genre-defying and dreamlike book."
This book is somehow manages to be intricately constructed and also effortless and surreal. It's a collection of polished meditations on time, place, and people that read like fairy tales. I loved it for so many reasons. First, Calvino's writing style is so elegant and atmospheric. Then there are the magical, mysterious, and symbolic miniature worlds he creates in the form of 55 imagined cities. Each city and its unique aesthetics, customs, and inhabitants are described in short prose poems. They are like little jewels that the reader holds up between their fingers and admires. The last thing I'll mention is that the structure of the book is so clever. Each city is an allegory recited by Marco Polo to the Mongol Emperor so that the latter can journey across his kingdom through words without ever leaving his garden. The cities are further organised into realms ("Hidden Cities", "Sky Cities") that Calvino forms into beautiful patterns both narrative and thematic.
This book is somehow manages to be intricately constructed and also effortless and surreal. It's a collection of polished meditations on time, place, and people that read like fairy tales. I loved it for so many reasons. First, Calvino's writing style is so elegant and atmospheric. Then there are the magical, mysterious, and symbolic miniature worlds he creates in the form of 55 imagined cities. Each city and its unique aesthetics, customs, and inhabitants are described in short prose poems. They are like little jewels that the reader holds up between their fingers and admires. The last thing I'll mention is that the structure of the book is so clever. Each city is an allegory recited by Marco Polo to the Mongol Emperor so that the latter can journey across his kingdom through words without ever leaving his garden. The cities are further organised into realms ("Hidden Cities", "Sky Cities") that Calvino forms into beautiful patterns both narrative and thematic.
This book is somehow manages to be intricately constructed and also effortless and surreal. It's a collection of polished meditations on time, place, and people that read like fairy tales. I loved it for so many reasons. First, Calvino's writing style is so elegant and atmospheric. Then there are the magical, mysterious, and symbolic miniature worlds he creates in the form of 55 imagined cities. Each city and its unique aesthetics, customs, and inhabitants are described in short prose poems. They are like little jewels that the reader holds up between their fingers and admires. The last thing I'll mention is that the structure of the book is so clever. Each city is an allegory recited by Marco Polo to the Mongol Emperor so that the latter can journey across his kingdom through words without ever leaving his garden. The cities are further organised into realms ("Hidden Cities", "Sky Cities") that Calvino forms into beautiful patterns both narrative and thematic.
This book is somehow manages to be intricately constructed and also effortless and surreal. It's a collection of polished meditations on time, place, and people that read like fairy tales. I loved it for so many reasons. First, Calvino's writing style is so elegant and atmospheric. Then there are the magical, mysterious, and symbolic miniature worlds he creates in the form of 55 imagined cities. Each city and its unique aesthetics, customs, and inhabitants are described in short prose poems. They are like little jewels that the reader holds up between their fingers and admires. The last thing I'll mention is that the structure of the book is so clever. Each city is an allegory recited by Marco Polo to the Mongol Emperor so that the latter can journey across his kingdom through words without ever leaving his garden. The cities are further organised into realms ("Hidden Cities", "Sky Cities") that Calvino forms into beautiful patterns both narrative and thematic.
This book is somehow manages to be intricately constructed and also effortless and surreal. It's a collection of polished meditations on time, place, and people that read like fairy tales. I loved it for so many reasons. First, Calvino's writing style is so elegant and atmospheric. Then there are the magical, mysterious, and symbolic miniature worlds he creates in the form of 55 imagined cities. Each city and its unique aesthetics, customs, and inhabitants are described in short prose poems. They are like little jewels that the reader holds up between their fingers and admires. The last thing I'll mention is that the structure of the book is so clever. Each city is an allegory recited by Marco Polo to the Mongol Emperor so that the latter can journey across his kingdom through words without ever leaving his garden. The cities are further organised into realms ("Hidden Cities", "Sky Cities") that Calvino forms into beautiful patterns both narrative and thematic.
This book is somehow manages to be intricately constructed and also effortless and surreal. It's a collection of polished meditations on time, place, and people that read like fairy tales. I loved it for so many reasons. First, Calvino's writing style is so elegant and atmospheric. Then there are the magical, mysterious, and symbolic miniature worlds he creates in the form of 55 imagined cities. Each city and its unique aesthetics, customs, and inhabitants are described in short prose poems. They are like little jewels that the reader holds up between their fingers and admires. The last thing I'll mention is that the structure of the book is so clever. Each city is an allegory recited by Marco Polo to the Mongol Emperor so that the latter can journey across his kingdom through words without ever leaving his garden. The cities are further organised into realms ("Hidden Cities", "Sky Cities") that Calvino forms into beautiful patterns both narrative and thematic.
What is the book about?
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Travel
Allegory
Allegory
Allegory
Allegory
Allegory
Allegory
Prose poetry
Prose poetry
Prose poetry
Prose poetry
Prose poetry
Prose poetry
Fifty-five fictional cities, each described in beautiful detail - each with a woman's name... In Invisible Cities Marco Polo conjures up cities of magical times for his host, the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, but gradually it becomes clear that he is actually describing one city: Venice. As Gore Vidal wrote 'Of all tasks, describing the contents of a book is the most difficult and in the case of a marvellous invention like Invisible Cities, perfectly irrelevant.' This is a captivating meditation on culture, language, time, memory and the nature of human experience.
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Support
Ben
(@bikeboybenny)
By buying this book here, they will get
Shipping to more than 40 countries
Guaranteed by Showcase