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Invisible Cities (Paperback)

by Italo Calvino (Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

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10 new from CDN$ 3.86 3 used from CDN$ 46.20

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Product Details

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Vintage Classics (Aug 5 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0099429837
ISBN-13: 978-0099429838
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.6 cm
Shipping Weight: 118 g

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #11,386 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Italian

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

"Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his." So begins Italo Calvino's compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about Armilla, which "has nothing that makes it seem a city, except the water pipes that rise vertically where the houses should be and spread out horizontally where the floors should be," the spider-web city of Octavia, and other marvelous burgs, it may be that he is creating them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating details of his native Venice over and over again, or perhaps he is simply recounting some of the myriad possible forms a city might take. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

'The most beautiful of his books throws up ideas, allusions, and breathtaking imaginative insights on almost every page. Each time he returns from his travels, Marco Polo is invited by Kublai Khan to describe the cities he has visited...Although he makes Marco Polo summon up many cities for the Khan's imagination to feed on, Calvino is describing only one city in this book. Venice, that decaying heap of incomparable splendour, still stands as substantial evidence of man's ability to create something perfect out of chaos' Paul Bailey Times Literary Supplement

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Customer Reviews

50 Reviews

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (50 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This simple parable will appeal to fans of magical realism., Feb 12 2002

By	SilverSun (Columbus OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invisible Cities (Paperback)

This short book is both a parable about power and a wonderful compendium of magical places as enchanting as the late medieval traveler's tales that Calvino has clearly absorbed. The aged dictator Khan sits at the edge of a vast empire that he has never actually toured. The nimble Marco Polo, by contrast, possesses no territory; only the memory of his many travels.

Like Sheherazade recounting her thousand-and-one tales, Polo finds himself in the position of having to recollect for Khan the descriptions of the many cities that he ostensibly possesses. Polo thus becomes the Khan's only source for information about the cities in his territory; hence their 'invisibility.' But the descriptions he gives of the cities seem increasingly fantastic and elaborate. The Khan is skeptical. Polo, for his part, insists that he is being frank.

The question at the center of the book becomes: who possesses these cities? Kublai Khan, or Marco Polo? What are we to make of the possibility that Polo, for all his protestations, is being less than honest with the Khan? In which case, do the cities exist only in the traveler's imagination? If so, is the Khan's empire therefore merely a dream and an invention?

The brevity of each section (1 to 3 pages) and the sensual pleasures Calvino's descriptions provoke makes this book exquisite bed-time reading. In fact, older children would probably also enjoy the beauty of this charming tale.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Subtle and Surreal, Jul 13 2001

By	"the_kenosha_kid" (Kenosha, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invisible Cities (Paperback)

This book, if any, merits more than a single, swift reading. It is a rare gem which should be savored gradually. Each section a slight glimpse of the sublime, Invisible Cities, if you allow it, may prove a valuable lifelong companion.

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4.0 out of 5 stars the adventures of marco polo..., May 24 2001

By	Erren Geraud Kelly (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invisible Cities (Paperback)

if they were told by scherazade....the story is trippy...history mixed in with some sci-fi...nice thing about the book is you don't have to be a sci-fi or history buff to really appreciate it, because the story is so good. also try " if on a winter's night a traveller..."

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars a must own! ...
i read excerpts from this book a couple years before i got into architecture school, it was one of the things that helped give me that final push into choosing architecture as my... Read more

Published on April 22 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars BORING AND REPETITIVE
i had to read this for school, i hated it. its boring and repetitive. you can read the first 2 or 3 chapters and thats all you need, because it doesnt change. Read more

Published on Mar 4 2002 by Jon

5.0 out of 5 stars The Endless Possibilities of Human Creativity
This is one of my two or three all-time favorite books. Why? Because Calvino manages to capture and express the endless possibilities for human creativity. Read more

Published on May 11 2001 by Bruce Schachne

5.0 out of 5 stars Polo vs Kublai in the world's series of cities.
Marco Polo arrived in Katai (now China) by traveling as long as 3 years and a half. He would be staying at the Kublai Khan's court for 17 years as ambassador and governor. Read more

Published on Mar 2 2001 by Roberto Dondi