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Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

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Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#21

Post by rbrtdrmpc- »

retsibsi wrote: post #9
realbarack wrote: post #4

One of my favorite passages of prose is from Calvino's "Invisible Cities"; I can't pass up the opportunity to share it on HN: "When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city. Finally he comes to Isidora, a city where the buildings have spiral staircases encrusted with spiral seashells, where perfect telescopes and violins are made, where the foreigner hesitating between two women alw…

Invisible cities was too visual for me (I have a weak visual imagination, so I can't appreciate books that rely too heavily on images), but I really liked If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, and this quote reminds me that I want to read more Calvino. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend another book of his, given those preferences/weaknesses of mine?

The Castle of Crossed Destinies (Il castello dei destini incrociati), it helps having visual imagination on this too, but i think is less intensive that Invisible Cities (Città invisibili) and Marcovaldo too.

p.s. Italian here too, though i never had the chance to read much of him during highschool

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#22

Post by reacweb »

p0llard wrote: post #6

A friend lent me a copy of Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler" which I would strongly recommend if you're looking for something a bit different. It's written in the second person (the protagonist is you, the reader) and is alarmingly postmodern.

I can not judge for all languages, but the french translation of this book is excellent.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#23

Post by RobertKerans »

retsibsi wrote: post #9
realbarack wrote: post #4

One of my favorite passages of prose is from Calvino's "Invisible Cities"; I can't pass up the opportunity to share it on HN: "When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city. Finally he comes to Isidora, a city where the buildings have spiral staircases encrusted with spiral seashells, where perfect telescopes and violins are made, where the foreigner hesitating between two women alw…

Invisible cities was too visual for me (I have a weak visual imagination, so I can't appreciate books that rely too heavily on images), but I really liked If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, and this quote reminds me that I want to read more Calvino. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend another book of his, given those preferences/weaknesses of mine?

If you're an English [native] speaker, The Baron in the Trees just received a very nice new English translation (published by Penguin on their Vintage Classics imprint in the UK). I love Calvino so much as an writer, but that's probably my favourite and the one I find I can recommend most successfully; it's imo more straightforward than his other more famous books, with less of the linguistic games.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#24

Post by mcphage »

retsibsi wrote: post #9
realbarack wrote: post #4

One of my favorite passages of prose is from Calvino's "Invisible Cities"; I can't pass up the opportunity to share it on HN: "When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city. Finally he comes to Isidora, a city where the buildings have spiral staircases encrusted with spiral seashells, where perfect telescopes and violins are made, where the foreigner hesitating between two women alw…

Invisible cities was too visual for me (I have a weak visual imagination, so I can't appreciate books that rely too heavily on images), but I really liked If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, and this quote reminds me that I want to read more Calvino. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend another book of his, given those preferences/weaknesses of mine?

Numbers in the Dark (https://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Dark-Italo-Calvino/dp/0544146...) has a wide variety of stories, it's a good starting point.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#25

Post by cryoshon »

calvino was a fascinating person and a powerful author. it's a shame he isn't more recognized in the mainstream of western literature.

he strikes me as the kind of person who is both mysterious and familiar at the same time -- someone who is wise and accessible, yet avuncular and rare to interact with. and, of course, he's deeply italian.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#26

Post by daviday »

retsibsi wrote: post #9
realbarack wrote: post #4

One of my favorite passages of prose is from Calvino's "Invisible Cities"; I can't pass up the opportunity to share it on HN: "When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city. Finally he comes to Isidora, a city where the buildings have spiral staircases encrusted with spiral seashells, where perfect telescopes and violins are made, where the foreigner hesitating between two women alw…

Invisible cities was too visual for me (I have a weak visual imagination, so I can't appreciate books that rely too heavily on images), but I really liked If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, and this quote reminds me that I want to read more Calvino. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend another book of his, given those preferences/weaknesses of mine?

Six Memos for the Next Millennium is outstanding

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#27

Post by billfruit »

p0llard wrote: post #6

A friend lent me a copy of Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler" which I would strongly recommend if you're looking for something a bit different. It's written in the second person (the protagonist is you, the reader) and is alarmingly postmodern.

Perhaps another work, in a similar vein (I thought it was better than, if on a winter's night..) is Vladimir Nabakov's Pale Fire.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#28

Post by billfruit »

cryoshon wrote: post #25

calvino was a fascinating person and a powerful author. it's a shame he isn't more recognized in the mainstream of western literature. he strikes me as the kind of person who is both mysterious and familiar at the same time -- someone who is wise and accessible, yet avuncular and rare to interact with. and, of course, he's deeply italian.

In general Italian Fiction, I think receives much less attention than French or Russian, at least till the end of last century, it is not easy to find translations of the Italian greats like Manzoni, Tasso, even Petrarch these days.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#29

Post by piffey »

RobertKerans wrote: post #23
retsibsi wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Invisible cities was too visual for me (I have a weak visual imagination, so I can't appreciate books that rely too heavily on images), but I really liked If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, and this quote reminds me that I want to read more Calvino. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend another book of his, given those preferences/weaknesses of mine?

If you're an English [native] speaker, The Baron in the Trees just received a very nice new English translation (published by Penguin on their Vintage Classics imprint in the UK). I love Calvino so much as an writer, but that's probably my favourite and the one I find I can recommend most successfully; it's imo more straightforward than his other more famous books, with less of the linguistic games.

So glad you posted this. Baron In The Trees is one of my favorite books and it has been so long since I read it. I'll be picking up that new translation.

Re: Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992)

#30

Post by galaxyLogic »

qfwfq_ wrote: post #17
retsibsi wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Invisible cities was too visual for me (I have a weak visual imagination, so I can't appreciate books that rely too heavily on images), but I really liked If On A Winter's Night a Traveler, and this quote reminds me that I want to read more Calvino. Would you (or anyone else here) recommend another book of his, given those preferences/weaknesses of mine?

Cosmicomics has long been my single favorite collection of written work. Calvino's amazing.

Yes that's the best I think, and very suitable for HN audience
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