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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was so strange, and yet I read it straight through without putting it down. I wouldn't read it again, but I'm not sorry I read it.
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When Marco Polo first meets Kublai Khan they do not speak the same language. Of the many hundreds of languages in the Khan's empire they don't have even one in common. Instead Marco Polo uses a number of small objects to indicate certain ideas, and a dialogue using these symbols is born. Eventually the two of them develop a lingua franca of whatever words in common they pick up and their own mutual experience with each other. This communication is forever anchored around the initial experience with the objects.
"Each piece of information about a place recalled to the emperor’s mind that first gesture or object which Marco designated the place. The new fact received a meaning from that emblem and also added to the emblem a new meaning. Perhaps, Kublai thought, the empire is nothing but a zodiac of the mind’s phantasms."
Guuuuuh that's so fucking rad.
"Each piece of information about a place recalled to the emperor’s mind that first gesture or object which Marco designated the place. The new fact received a meaning from that emblem and also added to the emblem a new meaning. Perhaps, Kublai thought, the empire is nothing but a zodiac of the mind’s phantasms."
Guuuuuh that's so fucking rad.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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
wow this is a thought-provoking read, the kind of book that you wished you had a buddy read so you could discuss the content immediately. thankfully there’s a lot of discussion on the internet where i could find and delve deeper into the the meaning of these stories.
I greatly enjoyed reading this book and would gladly read it again. It is a perfect combination of fantastical whimsy and careful construction. There is a lot to unpack in how this book is put together and I have not even started.