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A review by dan1066
The Uses of Literature by Italo Calvino
3.0
Even if the folk imagination is therefore not boundless like the ocean, there is no reason to think of it as being like a water tank of small capacity. On an equal level of civilization, the operations of narrative, like those of mathematics, cannot differ all that much from one people to another, but what can be constructed on the basis of these elementary processes can present unlimited combinations, permutations, and transformations...
I will not go into technical details on which I could only be an unauthorized and rather unreliable commentator. My intention here is merely to sum up the situation, to make connections between a number of books I have recently read, and to put these in the context of a few general reflections.
"Cybernetics and Ghosts"
These two passages from Italo Calvino's opening essay in his collection, The Uses of Literature, sum up the game plan for the overall volume: Calvino "makes connections between a number of books" he has recently read, and these connections are insightful, revealing a keen intellect complemented with a wonderful sense of humor. At times, some topics--especially those dealing with 19th century novelists--can be obtuse, but Calvino manages to impart wisdom even when deep within a work utterly alien to me.
His three essays on Fourier are amazing. Calvino spent a decade reading Fourier's work and he traces the evolution of utopian literature so common in the 19th century to our dystopian focus in so much of our contemporary fiction. Calvino's argument and prose in describing how utopian dreams have been dashed upon the rocks of experience is compelling:
After all the setbacks that faith in rational projection and prediction has suffered since then, after so many good intentions have been blunted against the wall of the inertia of vested interests and conditioned behavior, after the networks of so many urban projects have seen their mesh torn asunder by fish that were just too big for them, and now that the outlook for capitalist culture revolves around an image of catastrophe, concentrating all its fantasies on it (the foreseeing, preventing, or administering of catastrophe), this is when we choose to revisit utopia. But why?
The downside to this collection, as may be obvious in the preceding sample from the essay "On Fourier, III: A Utopia of Fine Dust," is Calvino has a tendency to dive deep into critical theory. Many times his forays are navigable; I am able to stay abreast of him. At other times, he dives so deep I lose sight of him and cannot discern what he is going on about. Fortunately, these moments are surrounded by moments of extreme clarity and precision. In fact, if I actually read more of the works he often alludes to (say, more Roland Barthes), I'm sure what I consider deep dives may likely be shallow excursions into theory which my inexperienced toddler self views as bottomless abysses.
The entire collection can be a chore to read through, but I'm glad I persevered. As I noted earlier, no matter what Calvino is discussing he inevitably brings something to the reader which is unique and treasured. It's certainly not for everyone, but he has such an intellectual gift that those willing to ride alongside him will no doubt benefit from the encounter.
I will not go into technical details on which I could only be an unauthorized and rather unreliable commentator. My intention here is merely to sum up the situation, to make connections between a number of books I have recently read, and to put these in the context of a few general reflections.
"Cybernetics and Ghosts"
These two passages from Italo Calvino's opening essay in his collection, The Uses of Literature, sum up the game plan for the overall volume: Calvino "makes connections between a number of books" he has recently read, and these connections are insightful, revealing a keen intellect complemented with a wonderful sense of humor. At times, some topics--especially those dealing with 19th century novelists--can be obtuse, but Calvino manages to impart wisdom even when deep within a work utterly alien to me.
His three essays on Fourier are amazing. Calvino spent a decade reading Fourier's work and he traces the evolution of utopian literature so common in the 19th century to our dystopian focus in so much of our contemporary fiction. Calvino's argument and prose in describing how utopian dreams have been dashed upon the rocks of experience is compelling:
After all the setbacks that faith in rational projection and prediction has suffered since then, after so many good intentions have been blunted against the wall of the inertia of vested interests and conditioned behavior, after the networks of so many urban projects have seen their mesh torn asunder by fish that were just too big for them, and now that the outlook for capitalist culture revolves around an image of catastrophe, concentrating all its fantasies on it (the foreseeing, preventing, or administering of catastrophe), this is when we choose to revisit utopia. But why?
The downside to this collection, as may be obvious in the preceding sample from the essay "On Fourier, III: A Utopia of Fine Dust," is Calvino has a tendency to dive deep into critical theory. Many times his forays are navigable; I am able to stay abreast of him. At other times, he dives so deep I lose sight of him and cannot discern what he is going on about. Fortunately, these moments are surrounded by moments of extreme clarity and precision. In fact, if I actually read more of the works he often alludes to (say, more Roland Barthes), I'm sure what I consider deep dives may likely be shallow excursions into theory which my inexperienced toddler self views as bottomless abysses.
The entire collection can be a chore to read through, but I'm glad I persevered. As I noted earlier, no matter what Calvino is discussing he inevitably brings something to the reader which is unique and treasured. It's certainly not for everyone, but he has such an intellectual gift that those willing to ride alongside him will no doubt benefit from the encounter.