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A review by buddhafish
The Distance of the Moon by Italo Calvino
4.0
180th book of 2020.
Several stories taken from Calvino's Cosmicomics: "The Distance of the Moon", "Without Colours", "As Long as the Sun Lasts" and "Implosion". The latter stories fall a little short of the title story, which is by far the most realised of the book. They are whimsical, light and humorous, on the most part. Most of all, they display Calvino's boundless imagination.
The title story imagines a world where the moon was once much closer, and the inhabitants of the earth (and indeed the story) could jump or climb on a ladder to reach it as it hovers above them. Once on the moon (and looking back at the boats upside down on the sea of the earth now above them) they could harvest moon-milk, which Calvino likens to cream cheese. Events turn, and the characters' lives are implemented into the bizarre world. There are a number of pictures made on the Internet about this story, one of them below.
The other stories are interesting and imaginative but hardly as compelling as the first. The final story, "Implosion", isn't a story at all. I'm yet to get my hands on a copy of the Cosmicomics. I believe we all have those books that keep eluding us, despite us wanting to read them. This is one of them.
Several stories taken from Calvino's Cosmicomics: "The Distance of the Moon", "Without Colours", "As Long as the Sun Lasts" and "Implosion". The latter stories fall a little short of the title story, which is by far the most realised of the book. They are whimsical, light and humorous, on the most part. Most of all, they display Calvino's boundless imagination.
The title story imagines a world where the moon was once much closer, and the inhabitants of the earth (and indeed the story) could jump or climb on a ladder to reach it as it hovers above them. Once on the moon (and looking back at the boats upside down on the sea of the earth now above them) they could harvest moon-milk, which Calvino likens to cream cheese. Events turn, and the characters' lives are implemented into the bizarre world. There are a number of pictures made on the Internet about this story, one of them below.
The other stories are interesting and imaginative but hardly as compelling as the first. The final story, "Implosion", isn't a story at all. I'm yet to get my hands on a copy of the Cosmicomics. I believe we all have those books that keep eluding us, despite us wanting to read them. This is one of them.