Invisible CitiesItalo Calvino's beloved, intricately crafted novel about an Emperor's travels—a brilliant journey across far-off places and distant memory. “Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.” In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo—Mongol emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts his host with stories of the cities he has seen in his travels around the empire: cities and memory, cities and desire, cities and designs, cities and the dead, cities and the sky, trading cities, hidden cities. As Marco Polo unspools his tales, the emperor detects these fantastic places are more than they appear. |
What people are saying - Write a review
User ratings
| 5 stars |
| ||
| 4 stars |
| ||
| 3 stars |
| ||
| 2 stars |
| ||
| 1 star |
|
Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified
LibraryThing Review
User Review - skavlanj - LibraryThingA Book That Was Originally Written In A Different Language A disappointment, after loving if on a winter's night a traveler. I think I would have gotten as much out of this book had I read it in the ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - stravinsky - LibraryThingwell, the dream-like language and fantastical imaginings reminded me a bit of Borges, except without a lesson to be learned. Though, I fully admit I may be too dense for this work. Read full review
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
already answer arranged arrived become begin believe beneath bridges building city's Clarice cloud contains Continuous dead describe desire distance draw dream emperor empire everything exist eyes face fall Fedora final follow foreigner garden gaze give ground grow hands hanging happens happy head Hidden houses imagined inhabitants journey Khan Khan's Kublai Kublai Khan land Laudomia leave less light living longer look lost Marco Polo mean memory mind mountain move never night objects once palace pass past Perhaps piece pipes question raised reach recognize reflected remain remember repeat rise rivers routes seen shape shifting signs space speak square stand stone stop streets sure tell things thought tions Trading traveler true turn walls wanted wind young
Bibliographic information
| Title | Invisible Cities |
| Author | Italo Calvino |
| Publisher | HarperCollins, 2013 |
| ISBN | 054413320X, 9780544133204 |
| Length | 176 pages |
| Subjects | › › Fiction / Action & Adventure Fiction / Classics Fiction / Historical / General |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |