From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino

Start date: April 1, 2015

Finish date: April 30, 2015

Discussion: International Book Group Read

Discussion leader: Sera

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International Book Group Read

International Book Read - Embers (December 2015)
By Sera · 91 posts · 41 views

last updated Jan 13, 2016 06:05AM

International Book Read - My Brilliant Friend (August 2015)
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last updated Sep 05, 2015 06:30PM

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What Members Thought

Apr 14, 2018 Henk rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, favorites

Fantastic observations on the eternal charm of the new, the relationship humans have with their surroundings and the dialectical dance between observers and the observed
Perhaps everything lies in knowing what words to speak, what actions to perform, and in what order and rhythm; or else someone's gaze, answer, gesture is enough; it is enough for someone to do something for the sheer pleasure of doing it, and for his pleasure to become the pleasure of others: at that moment, all spaces change, al Fantastic observations on the eternal charm of the new, the relationship humans have with their surroundings and the dialectical dance between observers and the observed
Perhaps everything lies in knowing what words to speak, what actions to perform, and in what order and rhythm; or else someone's gaze, answer, gesture is enough; it is enough for someone to do something for the sheer pleasure of doing it, and for his pleasure to become the pleasure of others: at that moment, all spaces change, all heights, distances; the city is transfigured, becomes crystalline, transparent as a dragonfly

Marco Polo reminiscing on Venice to Kublai Khan; it doesn’t seem the most exciting of plots but the fantastical cities Italo Calvino offers us are lush, exotic and filmic. We are drawn into philosophical thoughts on the existence of a city beyond the confines of the observer and its interpretation.
Enticing and unique, as can be expected of this brilliant author.

Memory in relation to the real, if that can be defined and seen as separate from the remembered, seem key topics as is the charm of the new. What can we really see and understand, especially in connection to our expectations. Symbiosis also returns in some of the cities that are described, an upper- and lower city existing only in relation to each other. Paradoxes are everywhere, as in when a city is preserved in most details it dies as a living, breathing thing. The interrelation between things and people is another topic Calvino comments upon in Invisible Cities.

The ending is hopeful, focused on finding the goods in potential cities and how this can be brought to our society. A delicious, hallucinogenic book, that feels like your siting with friends next to a fire while tackling the most deep philosophy. Go read this!

Dutch Quotes and thoughts:
Dat de triomf over de vijandelijke vorsten ons tot erfgenamen maakt van hun lange verval.
Verwachting versus werkelijkheid

De vorm van dingen onderscheidt je beter uit de verte

Is een stad fysieke dingen of mensen (of, waarschijnlijker de unieke combinatie van beide)

Perfectie die niet kan bestaan zonder uitbuiting of minstens het besef van mogelijk verval

Paradox dat een stad die alles van zijn verleden behoudt geen werkelijke stad die leeft en ademt meer is

De welvaart van Leonia wordt, meer dan aan de dingen die elke dag gefabriceerd, verkocht, gekocht worden, afgemeten aan de dingen die elke dag weggegooid worden om plaats te maken voor nieuwe.

Abstractie en detail in relatie tot het waarachtig afbeelden en waarnemen van het object

Zoektocht naar een onderliggend verklarend systeem van opkomst, bloei en verval

Hoe de waarnemer het waargenomen object beïnvloedt

de stad waarin je voor het eerst aankomt is er één, een andere de stad die je achterlaat om er niet terug te keren; elk verdienen zij een andere naam; misschien heb ik het al over Irene onder andere namen gehad; misschien heb ik het wel alleen over Orene gehad.

Een stad die altijd in aanbouw is, een stad gevestigd in een enorm spinnenweb over een ravijn, compleet hangend.

Het verhaal wordt niet geregeerd door de stem: door het oor.

De mens als plofkip, altijd verbreidend, opgesloten in zijn omgeving maar ook die omgeving vormend

Heden en verleden en toekomst (in al zijn potentieel) bezetten tegelijkertijd dezelfde fysieke ruimte

Hoopvol einde, gericht op het zoeken van het goede en dat bevorderen in onze samenleving en steden ...more

57 likes · Like · see review

Aug 01, 2008 Rosana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2008

As a child I remember being mesmerized by a collection of fairy tales. I could read with proficiency for my age – maybe 6 or 7 – but much of the meaning escaped me, although I could sense, or guess, much of it. At the end, it did not matter, because I was enthralled by the images and language.

Invisible Cities took me back to that early reading experience. I felt lost at times, searching for the meaning when the surreal and exotic images made me drunk. There is a philosophical deepness to this b ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 29, 2015 Sera rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, favorites, literary-fiction, kindle, 1001-books

Calvino is an Italian author who uses modern literary techniques to tell his stories. He uses this approach in Invisible Cities, and fails to disappoint. It's a travelogue of descriptions of cities as told by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan. Calvino's descriptions are vivid, beautiful and precise. Calvino talks about the evolution of cities, how they take on the persona of their inhabitants, how the bright shine of the city fails to illuminate what may be actually going on under the surface, etc. I co ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 12, 2025 Pamela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read, boxall-1001-read

The ‘Invisible Cities’ are a series of descriptions of imaginary places, framed by a discussion between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo about the nature of empire. This is a book that can be read quickly to absorb the imagery or more slowly to ponder the structure with its connections between the types of city and their fates.

The cities appear and disappear, crumble into dust or are dismantled and taken elsewhere. Sometimes the destruction leaves bridges and towers behind, sometimes inhabitants are l ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 29, 2013 Meghan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, modern-classics, own, italian

There are far better and more eloquent reviews of this out there. So I will only say that occasionally once or twice a year, I stumble across a story that touches me to my core. It resonants with everything that appeals to me about reading. It is difficult to describe this book: part architecture, part love letter to Venice, part fantasy, part introspection of self. But what makes it so good to me is that I found myself in so many of these cities.

As a traveler, I could relate both to Polo's des ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2015 Wendy rated it liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, 1001-books, in-translation, infp, metafiction

I thought this would be an interesting read paired with The Travels of Marco Polo and...yes, yes it was. The real Marco Polo (as far as we know), based on his prose, comes across as organized, detail-oriented, but doesn't reveal a tendency for poetic language or license. In fact, he takes great pains to de-mythologize tall tales, and is careful to attribute any hearsay with "I didn't see this, but I heard from so-and-so" followed by "sounds fishy, but that's the story they fed me."

Calvino's Marc ...more

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May 25, 2013 Lauren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001

Whenever I read a book by Calvino, I am thankful that he existed and that he chose to write.

This book is part poetry, part fantasy, part reflection on modern malaise. Like all Calvino, it is utterly unique and beautifully written.

Highly recommended.

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Mar 03, 2015 Heather(Gibby) rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-to-read

Impossible to write a review of this book as I really think it was over my head, and I did not get it.
There is some beautiful writing, and occasionally some really profound statements, but I did not enjoy the reading experience.

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