Scan barcode
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Fantastic exploration(!) of semiotics, meaning, and combinatorics through literature. Over 55 short prose vignettes, Marco Polo speaks with Kublai Khan about fantastic cities with a focus on a particular quirk or interpretation of that city. Each city is categorized in one of several themes (Thin Cities, Cities & Desire, Cities & The Sky, etc.), some of which are more steeped in the semiotic discussion, others are allegorical, and still others are simply surreal.
My copy is less than 170 pages, but I easily read 300+ over two weeks given I was so enchanted by each of Calvino's stories. I would read one of the nine sections, pause, and then go back two sections to reread and rethink. Fantastic little book that's utterly inspiring not only for fantastic places but as a way to simply view your city (whatever that might mean) in new contexts.
My copy is less than 170 pages, but I easily read 300+ over two weeks given I was so enchanted by each of Calvino's stories. I would read one of the nine sections, pause, and then go back two sections to reread and rethink. Fantastic little book that's utterly inspiring not only for fantastic places but as a way to simply view your city (whatever that might mean) in new contexts.
Only caveat is that Calvino uses a similar theme of "two cities existing at once" for probably ten of the passages. The book is so strongly organized by patterns and combinations that I found this to be almost a frustrating red-herring in it not really amounting to anything other than a conceit that Calvino must have liked. Kinda wish he just had a category called "Twin Cities".
As I read, I kept thinking about my time in the Sierra Nevada and similar interpretations or conceits with mountains. Like, one of Calvino's stories is about how the archetype you have of a profession in a city makes you collapse any memories of people doing that skill into the single person (i.e. I saw ten stonemasons but I only remember one), kind of like a twisted platonic ideal. It made me think of seeing quaking aspen in the northern Sierra; I can't tell you about one particular aspen, but instead all the ones I've walked past coalesce in my mind as the memory of aspen.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Suicide and Ableism
thebookofbanana's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Calvino’s writing creates vivid scenes of sprawling metropolises and quaint villages, each uniquely beautiful and with its own brief history to be found from its current state. I found it relaxing to meditate over these cities and their people in my imagination, thinking about every detail as it was described. Once again, I find Calvino to be the one of the most creative and fun authors I’ve read
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
msradiosilence's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Tldr; no plots, just vibes. Cities & the Dead are my favorites.
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/invisible-cities.
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/invisible-cities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, War, Death, and Racism
smuds2's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
UNFINISHED
REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]
RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.
Christmas 2023:
Revised from a 2.75 to a 3.75 on my second read through a few months later. This time I read through looking at it more like poetry than a novel or story.
I think that drastically improves the experience.
2 things I got out of this reread:
-our history is just one version of events, no more or less preferable than any other. History is constantly moving forward, never static, and if you take too long imagining what your impact will be with an action, the context will have changed so much that it’s no longer relevant.
-people should believe they are all one, there is a lot of mirroring, a lot of one action in one person equals another action in another etc. in this way, we are all interconnected, and you can only view people at the top level, just like it doesn’t make sense to look at a city at a smaller unit than a city.
REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]
RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.
Revised from a 2.75 to a 3.75 on my second read through a few months later. This time I read through looking at it more like poetry than a novel or story.
I think that drastically improves the experience.
2 things I got out of this reread:
-our history is just one version of events, no more or less preferable than any other. History is constantly moving forward, never static, and if you take too long imagining what your impact will be with an action, the context will have changed so much that it’s no longer relevant.
-people should believe they are all one, there is a lot of mirroring, a lot of one action in one person equals another action in another etc. in this way, we are all interconnected, and you can only view people at the top level, just like it doesn’t make sense to look at a city at a smaller unit than a city.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
More...