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Description edit
Dream-like storytelling at the twilight of an empire.
In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo -- Tartar emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts the emperor with tales of the cities he has seen in... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
Quotes edit
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“Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.”
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“Futures not achieved are only branches of the past: dead branches”
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“I speak and speak...but the listener retains only the words he is expecting...It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.”
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“Falsehood is never in words, it is in things.”
Marco Polo -
“It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.”
Marco Polo
First Sentence edit
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.
Table of Contents edit
1.
Cities and memory. 1.
Cities and memory. 2.
Cities and desire. 1.
Cities and memory. 3.
Cities and desire. 2.
Cities and signs. 1.
Cities and memory. 4.
Cities and desire. 3.
Cities and signs. 2.
Thin cities. 1.
. . . . .
2.
. . . . .
Cities and memory. 5.
Cities and desire. 4.
Cities and signs. 3.
Thin cities. 2.
Trading cities. 1.
. . . . .
3.
. . . . .
Cities and desire. 5.
Cities and signs. 4.
Thin cities. 3.
Trading cities. 2.
Cities and eyes. 1.
. . . . .
4.
. . . . .
Cities and signs. 5.
Thin cities. 4.
Trading cities. 3.
Cities and eyes. 2.
Cities and names. 1.
. . . . .
5.
. . . . .
Thin cities. 5.
Trading cities. 4.
Cities and eyes. 3.
Cities and names. 2.
Cities and the dead. 1.
. . . . .
6.
. . . . .
Trading cities. 5.
Cities and eyes. 4.
Cities and names. 3.
Cities and the dead. 2.
Cities and the sky. 1.
. . . . .
7.
. . . . .
Cities and eyes. 5.
Cities and names. 4.
Cities and the dead. 3.
Cities and the sky. 2.
Continuous cities. 1.
. . . . .
8.
. . . . .
Cities and names. 5.
Cities and the dead. 4.
Cities and the sky. 3.
Continuous cities. 2.
Hidden cities. 1.
. . . . .
9.
. . . . .
Cities and the dead. 5.
Cities and the sky. 4.
Continuous cities. 3.
Hidden cities. 2.
Cities and the sky. 5.
Continuous cities. 4.
Hidden cities. 3.
Continuous cities. 5.
Hidden cities. 4.
Hidden cities. 5.
. . . . .
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This is book 350 of 1286 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
This book is in William H. Gass’s Fifty Literary Pillars. (community list)
First Edition edit
Original Language: Italian
Publisher: Giulio Einaudi
Country: Italy
Publication Date: 1972
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 165
Publisher: Giulio Einaudi
Country: Italy
Publication Date: 1972
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 165
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PZ3.C13956 In PQ4809.A45
- Dewey: 858'.914
Subjects edit
- Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › Italian
- Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction
- Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
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