It is irrelevant and relevant at the same time, pointless and necessary at other times, while remaining non-contradictory. Then I thought I did not know, then I thought I knew again, and, in the end, I was reminded that I did not know. To be honest, I cannot quite describe what kind of book is Invisible Cities. And here comes the strangest part: I haven’t even noticed. Calvino is like a spy who sneaks in under the cover of darkness. Yet, they were all “in your face” at times. All of the aforementioned authors wrote fine literature, amazing actually. He did not force his way to me, he came unsuspected, veiled in beautiful prose. Girondo was thought-provoking-entertaining but not mind-altering.Ĭalvino managed to deliver where all of the above failed. Borges blew my mind-but only temporarily-he is amazing, but very systematic. Bolaño left me lukewarm-I was expecting more. He arrived on the heels of Bolaño, Borges, Ungar, and Girondo. Such was my encounter with Invisible Cities (Hartcourt Brace & Company, 165 Pages).
#Author of invisible cities skin#
That book manages to get under your skin in a very inconspicuous way, without you even noticing. It’s small, it looks interesting, and you buy it. Then, one day, you come across a gently used book. Most, if not all, pale with your favorites, do not fit with your ideas, or leave you cold. New books come along, and some attempt to quietly sneak in to your consciousness, while others attempt to shatter your world. You think you know what you like you think you know what to expect.
Words and phrases are judged against those that provided comfort when you felt down ideas and executions are compared against the benchmarks established over the years. Any new book that you open, any new author that you discover is judged against your favorites, against the voices that stimulated your mind over the years. By now, you have reached mid age, and you have over two decades of serious reading under your belt. Your list of favorite authors and genres grows you find literary voices that speak directly to your soul. The more you read, the more selective you become. At first, you read anything and everything that found its way to your hands then, slowly you begin discovering your own, unique literary taste, and you become selective. Much like a film that blends reality with dreams – Federico Fellini’s ‘8 ½’ being one of them – the literary architecture of Invisible Cities is aesthetically-compelling.You pass adolescence and enter the world of adult literature. Writers like Calvino re-define the map of literature and will continue, eternally, to chart new terrain, new passages, and new recesses of imagination and creativity. This book is a traveler’s delight and a tourist’s serendipity. Some familiar, some strange some phantasmagorical, some distinctly childlike and sincere. Invisible Cities is a spider-web of cities. This is how he invites his readers to feel more… and participate in his stories. This is the genius of Calvino in the world of literature. He writes you as a character in his stories. This is new and rewarding because you can imagine being a part of all the cities Calvino so beautifully describes.
Italo Calvino’s magical realism is broader, more telescopic, offering the most extraordinary descriptions and motifs of places rather than people. Books like Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle possess their own lively imagination necessarily brought to life by their vividly-portrayed characters. Haruki Murakami is one author whose magical realism is more character-driven and idiosyncratic. This can be any fictional or real location. You come across stories that highlight the lives of its characters through character development, we, as readers, can familiarize ourselves with the story’s environment. Descriptions of the inner workings of many cities that are masterfully-crafted to tickle the mind’s eye. Invisible Cities is an unconventional and intuitive book of descriptions. They transcend, magnify, and remodel the fabric of literature itself. Italo Calvino’s stories do not imitate, familiarize, or instruct a reader toward the infinite possibilities of imagination.
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