Scan barcode
tregina's review against another edition
5.0
Upon reaching the end of this book I am left with the thought, "Now what was it really about?" An oral atlas of unknown urban spaces, it is made up of wisdom and imagination and mystery and fragments of the known world, of philosophical ideas and questions about the nature of reality. Are they fantasies? Are they metaphors? Is the dreaming and telling of the travels the most important thing? Or, ultimately, is it all about this:
“I speak and speak,” Marco says, “but the listener retains only the words he is expecting. The description of the world to which you lend a benevolent ear is one thing; the description that will go the rounds of the groups of stevedores and gondoliers on the street outside my house the day of my return is another; and yet another, that which I might dictate late in life, if I were taken prisoner by Genoese pirates and put in irons in the same cell with a writer of adventure stories. It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear."
“I speak and speak,” Marco says, “but the listener retains only the words he is expecting. The description of the world to which you lend a benevolent ear is one thing; the description that will go the rounds of the groups of stevedores and gondoliers on the street outside my house the day of my return is another; and yet another, that which I might dictate late in life, if I were taken prisoner by Genoese pirates and put in irons in the same cell with a writer of adventure stories. It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear."
itsyeboy's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
Probably the best book I read in 2013. Came across it a few years ago, reading a small extract in a postgrad lecture and was mesmerized. Took me a long time to pick it up, but it was instantly enjoyable. Beautiful prose even if there's no solid narrative as such. Had a very brief conversation about it with a stranger in a bookshop- he told me to get 'if on a winter's night a traveller...' as it would "blow my mind"- I can't make judgements on a book i've yet to read, but this one is sufficiently 'mind blowing' for now. About Venice, but for me it's just as much about Hong Kong.
(Italy)
(Italy)
jkey_hwood's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
trin's review against another edition
2.0
Wait, shit, now I think I'm back to not understanding Calvino again. I mean, I think I got at least part of this book intellectually, but emotionally it did nothing for me. The language was at times beautiful and clever and compelling, but mostly I was sitting here thinking, “And...?” or, like, waiting for Marco Polo and Kublai Khan to make out or something. Can someone who was affected positively by this book tell me why it worked for them?
chinooo's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
johannd's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing more than what you make of it. A collection of quasi-poems that you can either take time to meticulously decipher the individual metaphors of or just enjoy the prose and childlike wonder that it might instill. And honestly, both are equally rewarding.
forgpnod's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Id love to understand this book in any capacity.
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so incredibly beautiful, that I felt like just giving it a five star speechless review. Than I remembered all the likes I stood to miss out, that way. Therfore I take shelter in that old saying 'Imitation is the best form of flattery':
Changing cities
For good or for bad, you will never forget your first visit to the garden city ‘Raag’ - yes, you must have heard about it, people talk about it all the time. It is a strange city, you can’t direct anyone to it, it can only be discovered accidentally, and discovered only when you are looking for it in pairs. It is only in pairs that you are allowed entry, for it is a city of pairs. The butterflies, sparrows and squirrels are all only to be found in pairs. Even the flowers smiling to sunlight have their faces close together in pairs as if whispering secrets to each other. Raag's popularity with poets has made it so attractive to people that everywhere one finds people wandering around in pairs specifically, though often also secretly, looking for it.
Though, at times found after a great wait and though it is often advised otherwise, the travelers who reach it often seem to be in a rush to explore it at once. May be it is just the excitement at the sight of city’s impossible beauty – even though the very objects that make the city are most commonplace; it makes travellers behave in new ways with their fellow partners. As if under a spell - needless to say a magical one; glances are stolen, smiles returned, promises made, secrets and kisses shared … and before you know it, you and your co-traveler are building your house in the woods by the lake; resolving never to leave. For what could be better than this joy that seems to promise to never die!
Except some of them leave – because one can’t bear the excitement or because, stupid as it obviously is, one wants to travel on. Those whose co-travellers have left, must leave too – or find a dark corner in a city that can find beauty only in pairs.
Soon those who had left want to return to Raag. And they do come back with a new co-traveler this time – but the city is no longer there. The woods, flowers, butterflies, sparrows, squirrels and lake are still there and the same; you even recognize that house which you build with your own hands – but the city, it no longer inspires that old ecstasy. You know the convention – the promises, the smiles, the kisses … but now it doesn't come naturally; at times you are unable go though it. You rush away wondering whether you were deceived first time, or if you have lost your way this time. You find yourself leaving the city, shaking your head in refusal to see that city is still same – and, may be, even already thinking of trying to find Raag somewhere else or perhaps already realizing that you will rather live in denial than admit the truth – that the city is still the same, that it is you who have changed.
Changing cities
For good or for bad, you will never forget your first visit to the garden city ‘Raag’ - yes, you must have heard about it, people talk about it all the time. It is a strange city, you can’t direct anyone to it, it can only be discovered accidentally, and discovered only when you are looking for it in pairs. It is only in pairs that you are allowed entry, for it is a city of pairs. The butterflies, sparrows and squirrels are all only to be found in pairs. Even the flowers smiling to sunlight have their faces close together in pairs as if whispering secrets to each other. Raag's popularity with poets has made it so attractive to people that everywhere one finds people wandering around in pairs specifically, though often also secretly, looking for it.
Though, at times found after a great wait and though it is often advised otherwise, the travelers who reach it often seem to be in a rush to explore it at once. May be it is just the excitement at the sight of city’s impossible beauty – even though the very objects that make the city are most commonplace; it makes travellers behave in new ways with their fellow partners. As if under a spell - needless to say a magical one; glances are stolen, smiles returned, promises made, secrets and kisses shared … and before you know it, you and your co-traveler are building your house in the woods by the lake; resolving never to leave. For what could be better than this joy that seems to promise to never die!
Except some of them leave – because one can’t bear the excitement or because, stupid as it obviously is, one wants to travel on. Those whose co-travellers have left, must leave too – or find a dark corner in a city that can find beauty only in pairs.
Soon those who had left want to return to Raag. And they do come back with a new co-traveler this time – but the city is no longer there. The woods, flowers, butterflies, sparrows, squirrels and lake are still there and the same; you even recognize that house which you build with your own hands – but the city, it no longer inspires that old ecstasy. You know the convention – the promises, the smiles, the kisses … but now it doesn't come naturally; at times you are unable go though it. You rush away wondering whether you were deceived first time, or if you have lost your way this time. You find yourself leaving the city, shaking your head in refusal to see that city is still same – and, may be, even already thinking of trying to find Raag somewhere else or perhaps already realizing that you will rather live in denial than admit the truth – that the city is still the same, that it is you who have changed.
andrewjmajor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
5.0