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A review by jolierice99
The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino
4.0
I feel like I always leave Calvino books a little confused, in a Ghibli sort of way. You know what happened was well done and beautiful, but really need someone to explain what just happened. And I like that. Not for everyone, and this book was a bit meandering in its own way, very on brand. It's more like Invisible Cities than If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, and I definitely prefer the style of the latter to the former, but can still appreciate good writing, eccentricity, and disregard for normality.
Most people may not like this, as there's really not much of a plot, just a collection of stories, but I loved the little tarot illustrations throughout and overall thought it was pretty good. One of my favorite quotes is "the best place to hide a secret is in an unfinished novel" that really resonated with me. Calvino is very quotable, and I read this a little too fast to fully grasp everything it had to offer, but still enjoyed it.
Most people may not like this, as there's really not much of a plot, just a collection of stories, but I loved the little tarot illustrations throughout and overall thought it was pretty good. One of my favorite quotes is "the best place to hide a secret is in an unfinished novel" that really resonated with me. Calvino is very quotable, and I read this a little too fast to fully grasp everything it had to offer, but still enjoyed it.