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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Still my least favourite Calvino but it did improve on the reread. I think most of that is quite buried- work on flows/discontinuities and the layers of The Woman Thing in this book which I'm still not sold on entirely though I do think Calvino is being a little smarter than it appears at first.
challenging
mysterious
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were some incredible themes in here about the nature of stories (what makes a good story), if there is such thing as a “false” story, proto-commentary on how AI will ruin publishing, commentary on how reader’s interest or worrying about the money behind publishing will ruin commentary, and what the right way to engage in a book is.
All that being said, I couldn’t fully get into it because the stories themselves were not quite interesting and at times, repulsive.
Ursula Le Guin said it best in her review of *The Complete Cosmicomics*,
“Calvino’s take on duality, the existence of opposites, is almost entirely sexual. It does not results in a synthesis but an eternal process […] As a rule, there is also a female entity, whose essence is not only difference but disagreement, resistance, escape: the unpossessable, unloving beloved. Because we are never in her point of view, the Calvinic cosmos is skewed to the masculine principle […] Where there’s authentic desire the male sees rivalry; and so the duality expands to the eternal triangle - here truly eternal.”
If you want a better take on love and reading, look for David Treuer’s *The Translation of Dr. Apelles*. If you want a more fantastical metafictional, poppy contemplation, pick up Erin Morgenstern’s *The Starless Sea*. (I don’t entirely recommend this one, but it’s still a more palatable take than Calvino at times). Both are wildly better interpretations of these themes without alienating female readers entirely.
The best parts of this book were the first and last two chapters and a sprinkling of paragraphs in the middle. I wished it had been chopped into a short story.
All that being said, I couldn’t fully get into it because the stories themselves were not quite interesting and at times, repulsive.
Ursula Le Guin said it best in her review of *The Complete Cosmicomics*,
“Calvino’s take on duality, the existence of opposites, is almost entirely sexual. It does not results in a synthesis but an eternal process […] As a rule, there is also a female entity, whose essence is not only difference but disagreement, resistance, escape: the unpossessable, unloving beloved. Because we are never in her point of view, the Calvinic cosmos is skewed to the masculine principle […] Where there’s authentic desire the male sees rivalry; and so the duality expands to the eternal triangle - here truly eternal.”
If you want a better take on love and reading, look for David Treuer’s *The Translation of Dr. Apelles*. If you want a more fantastical metafictional, poppy contemplation, pick up Erin Morgenstern’s *The Starless Sea*. (I don’t entirely recommend this one, but it’s still a more palatable take than Calvino at times). Both are wildly better interpretations of these themes without alienating female readers entirely.
The best parts of this book were the first and last two chapters and a sprinkling of paragraphs in the middle. I wished it had been chopped into a short story.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's taken me years to read this book. The opening chapter is just beautiful and a reader's dream. Then the story starts (and this is where I have previously put the book down). Bottom line, it's a tale of two readers: the Reader and the Other Reader, and their search for the ending of a story (or in this case 10 stories).
Who can resist this title, or that first chapter? There are beautiful passages later in the book that reach the sublime. As readers we can connect with the Reader and the Other Reader and understand their frustrations.
Who can resist this title, or that first chapter? There are beautiful passages later in the book that reach the sublime. As readers we can connect with the Reader and the Other Reader and understand their frustrations.
I admire how creative and hard this type of story must be to write. I was told it’s the few books to do 2nd person well and I have to agree. Takes a bit to get into the rhythm of it.
I would enjoy it more if it wasn’t so of its time - if you know what I mean. But still glad I read it.
I would enjoy it more if it wasn’t so of its time - if you know what I mean. But still glad I read it.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated