Have you read any Calvino? I've recently finished Invisible

>>8425947
My absolute favorite part from IC isn't a city description, but rather when Kublai accosts Marco Polo for making up these cities because he knows that his own empire is diseased and crumbling. Something about those few lines just break my heart.

But in terms of the cities, the one where a few small events are repeated or the one that never changes because people go there to resemble certain trifles are both favorites

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>>8425947
>favourite story from Cosmicomics
The spacesigns made me laugh out loud

Overdue for refresh of Invis Cities, but the mirror-dead city was the most striking

>>8425947
Baron in the Trees is fucking fantastic, one of my favorite books for sure, be sure to check it out.

>>8425958
It's a testament to Calvino that he made me feel for the man who he himself had described to have anything and live a blessed life. I also liked the moments where they play chess, I guess I didn't appreciate just how nice those moments of departure from the cities were, it created a brilliant pacing to the book and added another dimension.

>>8425967
The space-signs were great, it felt very looney-tunes-esque to me, it was a nice change of pace. For me though it was the t-zero collection that stood out, perhaps because after a while the cosmicomics stories felt very... repetitive? I think I just enjoyed the deviation to something a little bit more down to earth (literally and figuratively).

>>8426021
>Described as a conte philosophique[1] and a metaphor for independence, it tells the adventures of a boy who climbs up a tree to spend the rest of his life inhabiting an arboreal kingdom.
Added to my goodreads to-read list, thank you for the recommendation.

>>8426117
Glad you added it to the to-read list. Calvino is really amazing, I can't wait to read more of him. Mr. Palomar is what I plan to check out next, but first I'll take a detour and read some other authors a bit.

>>8426117
The discussions gave the cities and the factual ambiguity context, and just made each more poignant given their relationship and what Polo is trying to do for Khan

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Palomar is hilarious, and Castle of Crossed Destinies is great. Even lesser Calvino is very good, and I've collected most of them.

>>8426407
and you have a fuckton of AS Byatt, so: which of hers should I read next after I finish Possession?

>>8426117
>For me though it was the t-zero collection that stood out, perhaps because after a while the cosmicomics stories felt very... repetitive? I think I just enjoyed the deviation to something a little bit more down to earth (literally and figuratively).
Nice to hear this. I put Cosmicomics on the shelf a little while ago because I was getting a little burnt out on them. Looks like I was just before the t-zero section so I'll pick it back up soon.

>>8425947
I've read quite a bit of Calvino last year, and IC is definitely one of his better works. My favourite city is Octavia, (Thin Cities #5), mostly because of the image that formed itself in my head when I read the description.

I do agree with >>8425958 : the dialogues between Kublai and Marco Polo were a pleasure to read.

Another good book by Calvino is Marcovaldo; every single episode is magical realism pur sang. In my eyes, Marcovaldo is heads and shoulders above Mr. Palomar, Calvino's other episodic novel. Comparing the two, Mr. Palomar's character simply does not evoke the same wondrous feeling as Marcovaldo does, as his scientific, calculated perspective soon becomes dull and dry.

The Castle of Crossed Destinies is certainly decent, but perhaps I've rushed through it too fast, as the "gimmick" of reading tarotcards as a story lost its charm about halfway in.