Invisible Cities (edit title)

• Rated 5 stars

“At first, the cities Marco Polo describes seem totally distinct, and they're introduced by way of odd names and convoluted numbering systems. I felt as though there was something I just wasn't "getting" (I seem to become stupider as I get older), and had trouble getting into the book.

But slowly, the cities start to intermingle, and compose a structure. The concepts and ideas build on one another from vignette to vignette, referencing one another and creating extended ideas. As you read deeper, the metaphors become richer and more intricately layered, and it's easy to see how the pieces are connected.

The language is evocative and well-chosen--it'd be interesting to read in its original Italian. Calvino mixes mythology, philosophy, and sociology in a way that reads like a fairy tale and makes me think I've been transported to exotic cities (whether real or imaginary, alive or dead). One of the best books I've read in ages: totally absorbing, and left me feeling stunned more than once.”

• Rated 5 stars

“JP: Is this the best book I've ever read? Certainly, it's one that has remained a favourite for nearly two decades. Marco Polo, enjoined by Kublai Khan to describe the cities he has seen on his travels finds himself describing Venice in every city. A series of perfect miniature portraits of states of mind and modes of being embodied in strange cities and a dialogue about the nature of memory, imagination and longing, Invisible Cities is the best introduction to Calvino's work I can think of, and a great gift for a lonely, bookish 11-year old. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“Only superlatives will do for this book.These are cities of our dreams and the essence of real cities. Each fantastic tale jumps your mind to a place you have seen while helping you see it anew. I saw New York, Karachi, Bombay, Delhi and New Delhi. Who knows what you will see. I am busy translating it in Urdu language.Never been this thrilled with a book before.”

• Rated 0 stars

“I think , it is fabulous. and for one time in may design class , i encourage my student if they can creat one space according to what Calvino emagined.”

• Rated 5 stars

“My favorite of Calvino's books. It is a lyrical look at what a conversation between Marco Polo and Kubla Khan might sound like. Explorers and Dreamers alike will love it. The cities are states of being we have all felt.”

• Rated 5 stars

“an unexpected classic with enough fairy-tale-like mysticism that it becomes lightly moving toward the end. some of the best imagery in existence... and half the kids i hang with have one of the cities tattoo'd on them... so whatever that tells you. ”