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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Calvino's "Invisible Cities" is more than poignant--it is accessible. I find that it is not flowerily pretentious for a book that is literally describing dozens of different cities, each given only 1-3 pages.
The ideas in this story are unique. Some of my favorite cities were the ones that involved mirror cities. When I started a new mirror city story, a part of me felt it had already been done before in another city, but only for a moment. Then, Calvino complicated the expected. I loved the ends of these mirror city stories--they all further complicated the appearance of these cities.
It is true, a few of the cities are less interesting than the others. But I think there only ended up being a couple I didn't feel strongly about, not enough for me to have enjoyed it as less than a five-star read.
This book is fast-paced, poetic, and as mentioned before, accessible. I'd recommend this in a heartbeat. Up next for me: Calvino's "The Baron in the Trees." I can't wait to read more from him!
The ideas in this story are unique. Some of my favorite cities were the ones that involved mirror cities. When I started a new mirror city story, a part of me felt it had already been done before in another city, but only for a moment. Then, Calvino complicated the expected. I loved the ends of these mirror city stories--they all further complicated the appearance of these cities.
It is true, a few of the cities are less interesting than the others. But I think there only ended up being a couple I didn't feel strongly about, not enough for me to have enjoyed it as less than a five-star read.
This book is fast-paced, poetic, and as mentioned before, accessible. I'd recommend this in a heartbeat. Up next for me: Calvino's "The Baron in the Trees." I can't wait to read more from him!
challenging
reflective
slow-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
reading up on the contents of this book, the term "prose poems" was used. very apt description. a little heavy on the musings of the philosophy of Place but there were some gems.
I have mixed feelings about this book, and feel perhaps this is one I should have read rather than listening to.
I love an experiment in form, and Calvino is a master at this. This was interesting and fun but felt somehow unsatisfying, in the same way as a lot of SF which is all worldbuilding and no story.
I may revisit in future.
I love an experiment in form, and Calvino is a master at this. This was interesting and fun but felt somehow unsatisfying, in the same way as a lot of SF which is all worldbuilding and no story.
I may revisit in future.
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
I've been thinking about this book quite a bit since I finished it and I have decided that they way I choose to think about it is as a story about the infinity of possibility. It is, of course, a collection of descriptions of how a city could be and how a people could be and how the two shape each other. In that regard, my favorite passage is:
This said, it is pointless trying to decide whether Zenobia is to be classified among happy cities or among the unhappy. It makes no sense to divide cities into these two species, but rather into another two: those that through the years and the changes continue to give their form to desires, and those in which desires either erase the city or are erased by it.
In other words, do we live our lives in a place that mutates along with us, ultimately becoming whatever we choose to project into our environment, or do we live our lives in a place that lacks flexibility, either crushing our humanity or becoming subsumed by it until the city itself is too damaged to live in? Or even more simply, are we choosing as individuals and as a broader people to live in the realm of infinite possibility and openness or are we choosing to close ourselves off to the idea of change, the invisible cities out on the horizon yet to be dreamed? This idea translates to macroscopic and microscopic views of the world. How do we run our country? How do we run our lives? Each of these forms can be filled in a limitless number of ways. We are rich with possibilities! It's a shame we don't celebrate it more.
This said, it is pointless trying to decide whether Zenobia is to be classified among happy cities or among the unhappy. It makes no sense to divide cities into these two species, but rather into another two: those that through the years and the changes continue to give their form to desires, and those in which desires either erase the city or are erased by it.
In other words, do we live our lives in a place that mutates along with us, ultimately becoming whatever we choose to project into our environment, or do we live our lives in a place that lacks flexibility, either crushing our humanity or becoming subsumed by it until the city itself is too damaged to live in? Or even more simply, are we choosing as individuals and as a broader people to live in the realm of infinite possibility and openness or are we choosing to close ourselves off to the idea of change, the invisible cities out on the horizon yet to be dreamed? This idea translates to macroscopic and microscopic views of the world. How do we run our country? How do we run our lives? Each of these forms can be filled in a limitless number of ways. We are rich with possibilities! It's a shame we don't celebrate it more.
“The city, however, does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls.”
This book is like a beautiful dream calling for you to see the beauty and strangeness of the world beyond even what is visible to the eye
This book is like a beautiful dream calling for you to see the beauty and strangeness of the world beyond even what is visible to the eye
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
I mean, there’s no plot, it’s 165 pages of the same writing prompt, “imagine a city”. Am I missing something? Was I supposed to read this as a novel or was I supposed to open at a random page and write a short story based on one of the cities described? This book just didn’t grab me, at all.
2020 Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge
40 - Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar Reading Challenge
Aangezien dit het eerste jaar is dat ik meedoe, heb ik gekozen voor een prompt van vorig jaar.
"A book with unconventionally numbered chapters"
ook past het boek in diverse andere prompts zoals "A book you can finish in a day" en "Recommended by a friend" aangezien ik dit moest lezen van vriendlief.
Het boek geeft prachtige beschrijvingen van de ontmoeting tussen Marco Polo en Kubilay Kan. Polo vertelt over de verschillende steden die hij tegenkwam op zijn reizen. Hoewel de bewoordingen en beschrijving echt prachtig zijn, is het niet helemaal mijn stijl.
40 - Your favorite prompt from a past Popsugar Reading Challenge
Aangezien dit het eerste jaar is dat ik meedoe, heb ik gekozen voor een prompt van vorig jaar.
"A book with unconventionally numbered chapters"
ook past het boek in diverse andere prompts zoals "A book you can finish in a day" en "Recommended by a friend" aangezien ik dit moest lezen van vriendlief.
Het boek geeft prachtige beschrijvingen van de ontmoeting tussen Marco Polo en Kubilay Kan. Polo vertelt over de verschillende steden die hij tegenkwam op zijn reizen. Hoewel de bewoordingen en beschrijving echt prachtig zijn, is het niet helemaal mijn stijl.
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No