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hananas's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
hakimbriki's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
There were some highs but a lot of lows in this collection. Calvino’s stylistic exercise gets tiresome after a while, as stories can be repetitive and very pointless at times. The good ones (Games Without End, How Much Shall We Bet?, Solar Storm, The Chase, Daughters of the Moon, and World Memory) are absolutely stellar examples of original and unique magic realism and science fiction done with just enough whimsy, eyebrow-raising scientific elements and speculations, and open-endedness to stimulate the heck out of my brain. The stories seldom have any plot, but that’s okay. Their goal is to make you think, and reassess your place in the universe. The bad stories (basically the ones I didn’t mention above) are often the very manifestation of tedium. Others are pretentious, ineffectual, and dare I say, too scientifically convoluted. That being said, the good stories are worth the frustrations.
There were some highs but a lot of lows in this collection. Calvino’s stylistic exercise gets tiresome after a while, as stories can be repetitive and very pointless at times. The good ones (Games Without End, How Much Shall We Bet?, Solar Storm, The Chase, Daughters of the Moon, and World Memory) are absolutely stellar examples of original and unique magic realism and science fiction done with just enough whimsy, eyebrow-raising scientific elements and speculations, and open-endedness to stimulate the heck out of my brain. The stories seldom have any plot, but that’s okay. Their goal is to make you think, and reassess your place in the universe. The bad stories (basically the ones I didn’t mention above) are often the very manifestation of tedium. Others are pretentious, ineffectual, and dare I say, too scientifically convoluted. That being said, the good stories are worth the frustrations.
bluejay21's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kontramundum's review
3.0
A mixed bag of stories featuring Qfwfq, an anthromorphic being / sentient life-form who was there at the beginning of the universe and who is likely to be there at the end, and beyond. Qfwfq has existed in different forms: a single point, a dinosaur, a mollusca, a man.
Calvino is as inventive and playful as ever in these stories, basing their initial premise on a scientific fact. But it does not always work. Some of the stories felt too tiresome and contrived.
This edition is the definitive edition that includes all the Cosmicomic stories that Calvino wrote. I generally liked the early stories more than the later ones. Key highlights for me include "A Sign in Space", "The Aquatic Uncle" "How Much Shall We Bet?","The Dinosaurs", "The Chase", and "The Night Driver".
TL/DR: Qfwfq who was present at the beginning of the universe tells us of his adventures and how the world was like then. Each story starts with a scientific fact which Calvino uses as the germ of the idea for the story.
Recommended for: Fans of Calvino, Borges et al and more advanced readers of sci-fi / fantastic fiction.
Calvino is as inventive and playful as ever in these stories, basing their initial premise on a scientific fact. But it does not always work. Some of the stories felt too tiresome and contrived.
This edition is the definitive edition that includes all the Cosmicomic stories that Calvino wrote. I generally liked the early stories more than the later ones. Key highlights for me include "A Sign in Space", "The Aquatic Uncle" "How Much Shall We Bet?","The Dinosaurs", "The Chase", and "The Night Driver".
TL/DR: Qfwfq who was present at the beginning of the universe tells us of his adventures and how the world was like then. Each story starts with a scientific fact which Calvino uses as the germ of the idea for the story.
Recommended for: Fans of Calvino, Borges et al and more advanced readers of sci-fi / fantastic fiction.
jetjaguar124's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A fascinating collection of short stories, all of them fun and inventive takes on different concepts within 20th century science. I found the quality of the stories quite variable; I'm very biased, I learned, towards Calvino's middle career. This book, a collection of stories from across his time as a writer, really does a fantastic job charting his stylistic development. I can understand a little better now how Calvino became Calvino.
Highlights:
the Distance of the Moon
Without Colors
the Light Years
the Spiral
t Zero
the Chase
Night Driver
Shells and Time
Highlights:
the Distance of the Moon
Without Colors
the Light Years
the Spiral
t Zero
the Chase
Night Driver
Shells and Time
evetoi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
molslittlelibrary's review against another edition
read for uni course and quite simply i am very confused
richardleis's review
3.0
I read the first volume only and lost interest in the rest. The very first story, "The Distance of the Moon", is one of my favorites, but none of the other stories in the first volume quite lived up to my initial excitement.
chelseadoherty's review against another edition
5.0
It took an entire year for me to finish this collection but that was mostly because I had to sit with nearly every story afterwards and process it. I didn’t want to get to the end. Thankfully, there are over 30 stories in this collection. I LOVED pretty much every story in here and was blown away by the writing. With many of the stories, I can honestly say I had never read anything like it before. Italo Calvino is a mastermind. I have only read one of his novels but I will definitely read more. This is the type of thing you read and it makes you look at the world differently. I would highly recommend to anyone that wants their head just utterly scrambled but creatively.