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ursulamonarch 's review for:
Invisible Cities
by Italo Calvino
I'm really glad I read this for book club, because otherwise I'm not sure I would have gotten into it, or I would have just kind of sped through it.
As it was, I really enjoyed this! I sort of went through most of the discussion of themes in the book club (which some identified as "repetitive"!), the role of written language in storytelling/semiotics, what resonated with us about the cities, what was real in the book, etc. We discussed if all cities are the same or if none are the same, if cities are ships of Theseus, all sorts of fun things.
One thing that I enjoyed most about this book was how much it infected my thinking about other books/media. For example, on the way home from book club, I was listening to 99% Invisible podcasts about [b:The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York|1111|The Power Broker Robert Moses and the Fall of New York|Robert A. Caro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403194611l/1111._SY75_.jpg|428384], and thinking about Calvino's take on it!
And then also, I'm reading [b:The Future|123163147|The Future|Naomi Alderman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1678895127l/123163147._SY75_.jpg|100516893], which has two companies, one named AUGR and one named Medlar. I was somewhat familiar with "augar," but that was in this book too. But then I WASN'T particularly familiar with medlars, which were mentioned multiple times in this book, so I looked that up - what a good literary fruit to know!
Anyway the cities all seemed dreamlike and poetic to me in a way that was very enjoyable and SO relatable. I felt entranced.
The only thing I didn't like, I think, was how women seemed to exist as objects in so many of the cities. That felt gross to me.
As it was, I really enjoyed this! I sort of went through most of the discussion of themes in the book club (which some identified as "repetitive"!), the role of written language in storytelling/semiotics, what resonated with us about the cities, what was real in the book, etc. We discussed if all cities are the same or if none are the same, if cities are ships of Theseus, all sorts of fun things.
One thing that I enjoyed most about this book was how much it infected my thinking about other books/media. For example, on the way home from book club, I was listening to 99% Invisible podcasts about [b:The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York|1111|The Power Broker Robert Moses and the Fall of New York|Robert A. Caro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403194611l/1111._SY75_.jpg|428384], and thinking about Calvino's take on it!
And then also, I'm reading [b:The Future|123163147|The Future|Naomi Alderman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1678895127l/123163147._SY75_.jpg|100516893], which has two companies, one named AUGR and one named Medlar. I was somewhat familiar with "augar," but that was in this book too. But then I WASN'T particularly familiar with medlars, which were mentioned multiple times in this book, so I looked that up - what a good literary fruit to know!
Anyway the cities all seemed dreamlike and poetic to me in a way that was very enjoyable and SO relatable. I felt entranced.
The only thing I didn't like, I think, was how women seemed to exist as objects in so many of the cities. That felt gross to me.