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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.
I have never read a book as unique as Invisible Cities. Written as a series of prose poems, Marco Polo tells Kublai Khan about fictional cities in his vast empire. The cities never existed. Cities, created by the hand of man, reflect the desires and dreams of humans. The descriptions of the cities are actually poems about time, death, relationships, desires, memories, heaven, hell and everything in between. Each section also begins and ends with a third-person narration of conversations between Polo and Khan which set the tone for the cities described in that section.
I don't read a lot of poetry and I don't know how to review it, but I like this book. I like the poem about Despina, a city that reflect's man's desires for the things he doesn't have. My other favorite is Zobeide, an ugly city that is designed by men who want to capture the woman they have fallen for- the city is only beautiful to them.
I have never read a book as unique as Invisible Cities. Written as a series of prose poems, Marco Polo tells Kublai Khan about fictional cities in his vast empire. The cities never existed. Cities, created by the hand of man, reflect the desires and dreams of humans. The descriptions of the cities are actually poems about time, death, relationships, desires, memories, heaven, hell and everything in between. Each section also begins and ends with a third-person narration of conversations between Polo and Khan which set the tone for the cities described in that section.
I don't read a lot of poetry and I don't know how to review it, but I like this book. I like the poem about Despina, a city that reflect's man's desires for the things he doesn't have. My other favorite is Zobeide, an ugly city that is designed by men who want to capture the woman they have fallen for- the city is only beautiful to them.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Schitterend geschreven en in al zijn wonderlijke en rijke taalgebruik ook enorm herkenbaar voor een geograaf/planoloog/stadsliefhebber.
This sounded like something I would really enjoy. While some of the chapters were very evocative, it didn’t add up for me.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Impressive imagination, but the book itself was extremely tedious
I read this a while ago, and I keep thinking about it; on the bus, while tying my shoes, in the shower, while falling asleep, the little stories have seeped into my life. Calvino is becoming a favorite.
a perfect little book. unfaltering and thoroughly captivating.
Sometimes, I have trouble showing my friends around Seattle because I am afraid that by doing so, I am treading over the thin threads of memories that I have of people that are no longer in my life. I am afraid that the city that we experienced together will cease to exist in my memory— what I failed to realize is that the city in my mind has always been changing, and that it is not the true form.
This book read like a bowl of soft, cooked rice. Absolutely delicious and textured— it leaves you turning Calvino’s magical imagery of reality and cities around and around in your mind’s mouth. What is past, present, and future? What are we protecting by naming it something else? What is mimicry, and what is reality?
“Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.”
I am afraid of losing some memories of my cities, even if they are painful, but it is the process of holding onto something so tight even though it’s no longer there that causes so much pain. Cities in this book are like people (if they aren’t describing people to begin with). You have to let go the illusion of having control.
I really want to read this again in a hard copy again before I give it any ratings, because it is a short book and I think that it deserves more of my attention so that I am listening, rather than just taking what I want.
This book read like a bowl of soft, cooked rice. Absolutely delicious and textured— it leaves you turning Calvino’s magical imagery of reality and cities around and around in your mind’s mouth. What is past, present, and future? What are we protecting by naming it something else? What is mimicry, and what is reality?
“Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it, or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little.”
I am afraid of losing some memories of my cities, even if they are painful, but it is the process of holding onto something so tight even though it’s no longer there that causes so much pain. Cities in this book are like people (if they aren’t describing people to begin with). You have to let go the illusion of having control.
I really want to read this again in a hard copy again before I give it any ratings, because it is a short book and I think that it deserves more of my attention so that I am listening, rather than just taking what I want.