thewhimsicalowl 's review for:

The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino

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My apologies, but I am not using my one wild and precious life to finish this book. Calvino will always have a special place in my heart, but these zany atom antics aren't resonating. The author maintains his trademark levity, but his verbal acrobatics across space and time ultimately lead nowhere and are a headache to untangle, as empty as the vacuum his primordial characters occupy. I also can't shake my persistent discomfort resulting from the voyeuristic way he writes about women and their bodies (throughout his oeuvre) and the endless chase (à la Apollo and Daphne) led by his male protagonists.