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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
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
What a unique and enchanting little book this is. I don't know if it can be called a novel, it's not really a work of narrative art in any traditional sense and is more like a series of dialogues between two interpretations of historical figures, Marco Polo as a messenger to Kublai Khan in a series of travelogues which end up being the basis for spiritual and existential parables, most of them ultimately focusing on the concept of subjectivity of perception and how cities contain every breadth of the human experience. What results is a literary city symphony, as much attuned to the textural components of manmade civilizations as it is to the human heart that beats underlying all of them. Polo's parables increasingly take on a fantastical register [and even one that seems to jump into the far future at points], but the conviction, strength of description and lucidity of his described travels to the Khan as well as the book's focus on the inherent malleability of interpretation for even concretely existing phenomena, in this case cities, ends up making his accounts astoundingly convincing. And the structural formalism here is extremely simple yet enormously effective - each "type" of city Marco describes is given in the chapter headers, and the direct dialogues between he and the Khan are italicized and the two here have intimate conversations about what is being discussed, giving them established characters, and there are pages of empty space in between chapters giving the book a feel of expanding as vastly as the cities described, making it feel as appropriately all-enveloping as it should be despite the short page count. If you are a person who has much nostalgia and appreciation for any city [or even just community], as I do with New York, you will find something powerful and resonant to latch onto here, whether in the Marco-Khan chapters or the actual parables. I expected Calvino to impress me, but not expecting this to be as unique and evocative as it is. Love the cover too, my beloved postmodern minimalism [which can apply to the structure of the book in general].
"Kublai Khan had noticed that Marco Polo's cities resembled one another, as if the passage from one to another involved not a journey but a change of elements. Now, from each city Marco described to him, the Great Khan's mind set out on its own, and after dismantling the city piece by piece, he reconstructed it in other ways, substituting components, shifting them, inverting them."
"Kublai Khan had noticed that Marco Polo's cities resembled one another, as if the passage from one to another involved not a journey but a change of elements. Now, from each city Marco described to him, the Great Khan's mind set out on its own, and after dismantling the city piece by piece, he reconstructed it in other ways, substituting components, shifting them, inverting them."
I really enjoyed reading this book. It created a whole different mindset for which I read place in literature. There is no other way to describe it other than beautifully written and infinitely thoughtful. I already know a few people who I will be recommending it to and giving it to as a gift.
The other thing that kept it from 5 stars was that I felt that it may have gone on a little long at the end. I was so taken with the Khan and Marco Polo that the cities at the end, though absolutely fascinating, especially the Continuous Cities, seemed to fade for me as I eagerly read to the next part in the garden. However, when I go back and read it again (which I will), I think this will be remedied and I will no doubt change my rating.
The other thing that kept it from 5 stars was that I felt that it may have gone on a little long at the end. I was so taken with the Khan and Marco Polo that the cities at the end, though absolutely fascinating, especially the Continuous Cities, seemed to fade for me as I eagerly read to the next part in the garden. However, when I go back and read it again (which I will), I think this will be remedied and I will no doubt change my rating.
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fantastic inspiration for anyone creating fantasy cities or wanting to reflect on sociological aspects of people living life in large groups. Not quite as revelatory as I was hoping though, not too many of the cities grabbed me (though a handful did!). The framing device of Marco Polo telling Kubla Khan all this felt tiresome outside one rumination on why Polo didn't tell Khan about his home city, Venice, as well.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautifully written!
Tercer libro del club de lectura Mother & Daughter; mamá y yo concordamos con la calificación y con que hay que leerlo varias veces para captar todos esos elementos enredados en la historia. Calvino utiliza muchísimos términos extraños lo cual dificulta un poco la lectura pero también la hace emocionante.
Tercer libro del club de lectura Mother & Daughter; mamá y yo concordamos con la calificación y con que hay que leerlo varias veces para captar todos esos elementos enredados en la historia. Calvino utiliza muchísimos términos extraños lo cual dificulta un poco la lectura pero también la hace emocionante.
Cosa significa essere una città? Calvino ne riesce a descrivere un'infinità, soffermandosi su alcune categorie che ritroviamo nei titoli dei "capitoli".
L'unico collante tra le diverse città è la figura di Marco Polo che racconta all'imperatore dei suoi viaggi e insieme riflettono sul concept del libro.
Lettura interessante soprattutto perché è stata parte integrante della mia tesi di laurea che mi ha aiutata nella sua progettazione concettuale.
L'unico collante tra le diverse città è la figura di Marco Polo che racconta all'imperatore dei suoi viaggi e insieme riflettono sul concept del libro.
Lettura interessante soprattutto perché è stata parte integrante della mia tesi di laurea che mi ha aiutata nella sua progettazione concettuale.