In Invisible Cities Marco Polo conjures up cities of magical times for his host, the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, but gradually it becomes clear that he is actually describing one city: Venice. As Gore Vidal wrote 'Of all tasks, describing the contents of a book is the most difficult and in the case of a marvellous invention like Invisible Cities, perfectly irrelevant.' (2002-02-20)
Invisible Cities (Vintage Classics)
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"Invisible Cities changed the way we read and what is possible in the balance between poetry and prose... The book I would choose as pillow and plate, alone on a desert island" (Jeanette Winterson)
"Whole chapters of unforced poetic prose in which insight and fantasy are perfectly matched-an exquisite world" (Observer)
"'Invisible Cities is perhaps his most beautiful work-the artist seems to have made peace with the tension between man's ideas of the many and the one" (New York Review of Books)
"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)
"Of all the Italian post-war novelists, Italo Calvino is the adventurer. He glitters, impersonal, brilliant and lasting" (Financial Times)
"Whole chapters of unforced poetic prose in which insight and fantasy are perfectly matched-an exquisite world" (Observer)
"'Invisible Cities is perhaps his most beautiful work-the artist seems to have made peace with the tension between man's ideas of the many and the one" (New York Review of Books)
"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)
"Of all the Italian post-war novelists, Italo Calvino is the adventurer. He glitters, impersonal, brilliant and lasting" (Financial Times)
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'A subtle and beautiful meditation' Sunday Times (2002-02-20)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a masterpiece for me. It accompanied me throughout a long journey that I took in Europe in the past. It is written in a poetic way that makes you think, reflect and enter into the fantastic world of the invisible cities of Kublai Khan's empire, created by Calvino. Marco Polo works for the Khan. He has to visit many towns of the Mongolian empire so that later he can share his impressions with the great Khan. This is mainly because the empire is so big that Kublai Khan would never be able to visit all towns of his empire.
Each chapter has the name of a town, which is described by Marco Polo. In addition, there are many dialogs between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo that are, in my point of view, the most exciting part of the book. The dialogs are so intelligent and stimulating that I read some of them many times. They can trigger our natural curiosity about the way we see things around us, the future, the past, the present, etc. It is a book to be read in a slow pace so we can reflect upon each part. It helped me to slow down my frequently rushed rhythm of life. How conscious are we while we write the pages of our lives?
Each chapter has the name of a town, which is described by Marco Polo. In addition, there are many dialogs between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo that are, in my point of view, the most exciting part of the book. The dialogs are so intelligent and stimulating that I read some of them many times. They can trigger our natural curiosity about the way we see things around us, the future, the past, the present, etc. It is a book to be read in a slow pace so we can reflect upon each part. It helped me to slow down my frequently rushed rhythm of life. How conscious are we while we write the pages of our lives?
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By alexisalex
Format:Paperback
A book that describes every imaginery city, every city that you have ever visited, every city that you have ever wanted to visit or imagine, or the city you have come from which you wish to be as you imagined it to be...this is a book about the language of the imagination, a book of cities as pychological states, physical states, sensory states...A book about descriptions ? Yes. But descriptions that have a transcendant quality. Not much narrative ? True, but yet they contain fragments of narrative that have an extraordinary quality, about place, and what place means to us all. Calvino was a truely great novelist, one of the great European novelists of this century, on par with Beckett..yet less bleak, no less universal. This is one, if not the best, of his "books". If you like this also try "If on an invisible night" and "Mr Paloma".
If you like to combine "thought-provoking" with sensual - a very unusual and wonderful combination.
If you like to combine "thought-provoking" with sensual - a very unusual and wonderful combination.
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Before reading this novel, you must note one thing - there is no plot whatsoever. Despite what the blurb says about Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, that is simply a framework, a structure to hold a series of highly impressionistic descriptions of cities together. The book covers a remarkable range of ideas - death, life, religion and relationships to name but four. However, the lack of plot does not make it any less worthwhile nor any less literary - the prose is lush and poetic, lucid and evocative, and it would be hard not to be captivated by Calvino's remarkable style. Inventive, enlessly imaginative, extremely experimental, Calvino created a beautiful and memorable book - in effect, Calvino wrote the plotless novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
great read
this is a great little read. I reccommend reading this on the plane on route to a distination, helping you think about your new city
Published 1 month ago by BB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Always love a good classic
A short but sweet book, Calvino goes through so many faces of cities and does it very engagingly. Would definitely recommend to friends interested in urbanism and something a bit... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kaiyi Gu
1.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer beware
It's short. Marco Polo recounts his adventures to Kublai Khan without a common language. Cue a raft of descriptions of cities with made-up names. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Officer Dibble
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enojoyable Journey
I had to get this book for a course I was taking at the University, and I have to admit that almost 7 years later I still go back to it and stay there for hours and even days! Read more
Published 8 months ago by Infected Bubble
5.0 out of 5 stars
Genius
Even though it struggles in the final chapters this is a truly outstanding work encompassing so much that to each reader a new city will given and experienced. Read more
Published 10 months ago by gardenboy
4.0 out of 5 stars
discovery
wow! a great discover by traveler marco polo.
fascinating book . i might well read it till the journey ends thanks
fascinating book . i might well read it till the journey ends thanks
Published 10 months ago by S8CARE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating book!
I had to buy this book for a university creative writing course, and I have to say I'm a total convert to Italo Calvino and will be looking out for his other books when I'm done... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Isobel
2.0 out of 5 stars
I think I missed the point on this one
First off, I love Calvino. If on a winters night ... is a masterpiece!
Unfortunately, I just couldn't see the point in this one, which is not to say I got nothing out of... Read more
Unfortunately, I just couldn't see the point in this one, which is not to say I got nothing out of... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mike N
5.0 out of 5 stars
Completely Beautiful
Invisible Cities is an utter masterpiece. Very nearly completely plotless, simply a collection of short passages describing fifty-five Fantastic cities, framed by the dialogue... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Monday
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poetic and thought-provoking
This book is inspired by Marco Polo's travel in the Orient, and his encounter with the Great Khan.
It is a succession of city portraits, all different and discrete, but... Read more
It is a succession of city portraits, all different and discrete, but... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Artsreadings
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