![]() ![]() The more it expands, the more it inevitably results in places too far from civilisation to be 'healed' and corruption is inevitable. ![]() Like Alexander the Great who could not maintain control of the lands he had conquered, the Khan is bothered from outset of the story that the size of his empire makes it impossible for him to know it all. Invisible Cities is structured in 9 chapters, each prefaced by a conversation between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo, and followed by a coda where they reflect on the cities just described. ( 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, edited by Peter Boxall, 2006 Edition, Quintet Publishing 2006, p 632.)īut it was the article at Wikipedia that offered me a schematic way to read it. ![]() The upper world is known chiefly through the memory of those whose eyes now dwell on the lower. It is divided into upper and lower parts, windowsills and fountains above gutters and wastepaper below. Zemrude, for example, is a city that changes according to the mood of the beholder. Fifty-five prose pieces each describe a different fabulous city and each contains a conceptual or philosophical puzzle or enigma. Invisible Cities is constructed as a series of imaginary travel anecdotes told to the Tartar emperor Kublai Khan by the Venetian explorer Marco Polo. The citation for Invisible Cities from 1001 Books says that: (1001 Books does not include The Complete Cosmicomics (1997), probably because it's not a novel, it's a collection of short stories, one of which I reviewed recently.) Six Memos for the Next Millennium (1988, essays, translated 1993).The Path to the Nest of Spiders(1947, translated 1947 and revised 1998.This is the 'heraldic trio' comprising The Cloven Viscount, (1952, translated 1959) The Baron in the Trees(1957, translated 1959, on my TBR) and The Nonexistent Knight, 1959, translated 1962) Our Ancestors (1960, translated into English 1962.If On a Winter's Night, a Traveller(1979, translated 1981, see my review.The Castle of Crossed Destinies(1969, translated into English 1977, on my TBR).Invisible Cities is one of six entries for Italo Calvino (1923-1985) in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Solo se conoscerai il residuo d’infelicità che nessuna pietra preziosa arriverà a risarcire, potrai computare l’esatto numero di carati cui il diamante finale deve tendere, e non sballerai i calcoli del tuo progetto dall’inizio. È per questo che ogni rilettura de Le città invisibili ci dirà qualcosa di diverso: in momenti diversi della nostra vita avremo bisogno di concentrarci e riflettere su fili diversi della matassa e sentiremo più vicina quella o quell’altra città, quello o quell’altro scambio tra Kublai Kan e Marco Polo.Ī questo giro non ho potuto fare a meno di essere colpita dalle possibilità perse, dalle città malate e dall’importanza di vedere gli sprazzi di luce e farli brillare nonostante il fumo acre degli incendi. Nella lettura, è facile scoprire somiglianze con le nostre città e noi abitanti, in un intreccio che ci rivela parti di noi stessз, a loro volta riflesse negli spazi che abitiamo. Le città invisibili è una guida alle città dei territori sotto il dominio di Kublai Kan, che si fa raccontare da Marco Polo le loro caratteristiche. Puoi trovare questa recensione anche sul mio blog, La siepe di moreĬosa si può scrivere de Le città invisibili? O di Calvino in generale? Se come me amate le prose senza fronzoli e di quella semplicità che riesce come nient’altro a raccontare la matassa inestricabile delle cose della vita e della morte, non mancate di leggervi qualcosa di Calvino. If you enjoyed reading one of these books, you should enjoy the other. Where Palomar gets very much into the mind of the protagonist, and his fixed, elaborate, and definite interpretations of reality, Invisible Cities is similar in that the recollections are also told from the point of view of the narrator, but differ each time, none being tied to reality, all of them containing aspects of truth found through how you interpret them. Both books also contain no strong plot, and consist of many small and diverse sections, and in a way, could be dipped into. But the effect is much the same, both books give you something to think about, make you see things in different ways, and are a pleasure to read. In Mr Palomar various locations, things, and thoughts are described precisely with the utmost eloquence and detail, whereas in Invisible Cities, it is one place being described in many different ways, hazy, as if seen through lenses of different qualities, and warping mirrors. Palomar by Italo Calvino ( P_S_Patrick) P_S_Patrick: Thes two books are in some ways very like each other, and in some ways quite the opposite. ![]()
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