Reviews

Las ciudades invisibles by Italo Calvino

andrewjmajor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious reflective

5.0

gothhotel's review against another edition

4.0

Well, it’s very insightful. I can see why it’s considered a classic and that there is a lot to dig into here, but it’s not one of those classics that really pulled me in on its own terms. I’d read a section and be like, “Huh, neat” or “Cool” and then walk away. There’s something to be said for a book you can meditate on in pieces. Lots of it is elegant, even quotable. “Desires are already memories.” “Futures not achieved are only branches of the past.” It’s good shit and at times even moving as it makes its point - “Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once e, if I speak of it.”

But I find that concentrated doses of postmodern philosophization can have a, um, soporific effect. Like listening to a sage speak in riddles, you don’t want to do it all day. And hey, I’m on the go, I want a book I can take with me or that can take me somewhere. And I don’t care to devote the necessary brain power to figure out if the rich orientalist fantasy here is subversive or just an indulgent setting for the philosophical games. So, I fold.

ladymab's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

evil_isa's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

there were some moments of the book where the prose was so good i almost cried to descriptions of trees and rocks

breadandmushrooms's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

ailynobaire's review against another edition

Rarely do I finish a book with the impulse to flip back to the first page and go at it again. Really an incredible novel. Something you can sit with in your head for days. A novel of ideas at its finest.

valeview's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-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

3.75

incredible as a piece of micro fiction or something to read a page or two at a time, rather than a book to blitz through, and some pretty wonderful inspiration for world building for d&d 

sartman's review against another edition

challenging inspiring 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

3.0

mar_la's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

drakewroth's review against another edition

5.0

Sublime