Review: 3 Books by Italo Calvino

After I commented on Shelf Love's review of If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino that I loved Calvino's work, Jenny asked me for a recommendation of another Calvino book to read.

I commented that, Invisible Cities is my favorite Calvino book (I think because I am an architect). Outwardly, Invisible Cities is the story of Marco Polo telling Kublai Khan about all the cities he’s visited. Of course, what’s its really about is the nature of cities and imagination and human nature. It is beautiful.


I also commented that I enjoyed Marcovaldo: Seasons in the City, which is a short story collection. Normally, I don’t love short stories, but maybe because I think even Calvino’s novels are fairly episodic, he just does them so well. From this book, my favorite story is “Moon and GNAC”, which I think is a perfect gem of a story.

Another interesting Calvino book (that I didn't mention on Shelf Love) is Cosmicomics, another short story collection. The collection is unified around the theme of science, though its fantastical science, and most of the stories have the same narrator, Qfwfq. The book is a little strange, but still wonderful.

There are other wonderful Calvino books, but I will stop there. If you've read any of Calvino's books, let me know which ones you'd recommend. And if you read any of these, let me know what you think!

Buy Invisible Cities on Amazon.

Buy Marcovaldo: Seasons in the City on Amazon.
Buy Cosmicomics on Amazon.

Book Suggestions

I got a request today from a good friend of mine.

I just finished Independence Day by Richard Ford, which was phenomenal, and am now reading Lolita, but I feel like I'm in an author rut. Would love to hear if you have any suggestions...

Absolutely!

I loved Lolita, and though I've never read it, I've been told (by people who know) that Pnin by Nabakov is even better.

Have you tried reading anything by Richard Russo? I really liked Empire Falls. I think it got made into a movie, too, though I didn't see it.

For another book in the "sad but well-written examination of American life" department, you could try The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates. I have to confess I didn't finish this one, because it is long and dense, but Oates is a great writer.

Also, The Ha-Ha by Dave King (which I blogged about recently) is great and I can't recommend it enough.

If anyone else is looking for book suggestions, let me know what you like and I'm happy to see if I can help.