How do I understand this book? I am 50 pages in and I have no

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Are you sure it didn't get misprinted? That happens sometimes
Otherwise what you read is what you get, you can go more in-depth on how it's built but that's not required. Do you know who Marco Polo and Kublai Khan are?

>>8421683
I know who they are but do I have to read up on them extensively in order to understand? The chapters were so similar that I kept waiting for something exciting to happen but it never did. Seems like a bunch of nonsense rambling to me.

>>8421712
>do I have to read up on them extensively
No, the basics of their relationship is all you'd need to know, not quite speaking the same language as first and all that is alreay mentioned in the text I believe
>I kept waiting for something exciting to happen
If you're not enjoying it so far, it's not for you. If someday you catch yourself reading poetry then maybe come back to it

>>8421712
If you dont like Invisible Cities you are a legit pleb and should stop attempting to wrap your puny head around real books.

>>8421712
>waiting for something to happen
I hate to make horrible accusations about people I don't know, but it sounds to me like you're reading for plot.

Invisible Cities is imagination porn. It's not intended to be something revolutionary, it's an interesting premise and a lot of creative, weird, imaginative place-descriptions.

The heart of the book is figuring out Marco Polo while enjoying the places he describes. Is he lying about every place? As the places he describes continue to get weirder, is there a certain point where he begins lying? Is it all true(unlikely, but you could consider)?

There's a sort of mystery about him describing this vast, essentially unknown kingdom. It's supposed to spark your imagination. Make you feel like a child reading history books and being fascinated by the world. If you aren't a very imaginative person it may just not be a novel for you.

Calvino is brilliant, but in this case the content is more about the feelings than the intellect.

>>8421712
Stop reading it, then. If you didn't love it after 10 pages, it's not for you. It doesn't change

>>8421751
also, to be clear, while describing the "point" of the book I was trying to present it as if I'm a high school teacher trying to help my students get involved in a sort of, kind of complicated book.

I did my best to make it simple for you if you really must read for a plot and purpose.

>>8421751
You're an actual idiot. It's not a bunch of pretty scenes to be enjoyed for the quality of writing, each city is a philosophical question or conundrum that fits into the greater relationship and frame story of Marco and Kublai.

They're beautiful to read because each is a meditation on a subject or aspect of life expanded to encompass existence as a whole.

>>8421881
Oh god shut up, posting IJ in every thread is neither original nor funny

>>8421712
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE