Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
In this unique novel, a Venetian traveler describes 55 different cities to the Mongol emperor, each city more fantastical and surreal than the last. The cities are divided into categories such as "Cities and Memory," "Cities and Desire," "Cities and Signs," etc. As the traveler continues to describe these cities, it becomes clear that they are all actually the same city, Venice, seen from different perspectives and points in time. The novel explores themes of memory, perception, and the nature of human experience.
The 271st greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1972
- Nationality
- Italian
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- around 165
- Words
- 36,000
- Original Language
- Italian
- Alternate Titles
- None
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This book is on the following 18 lists:
- 27th on TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) (/r/TrueLit)
- 60th on The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Folha de São Paulo)
- 60th on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 93rd on 100 Essential Books (Bravo! Magazine)
- 155th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time (Refinery29)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- Donald Barthelme’s Reading List (Believer Mag)
- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List (1,000 Books to Read Before You Die(Book))
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities (XLSemanal and Zenda)
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime (Esquire)
- Zeit Literaturkanon (https://www.librarything.com/award/335/ZEIT-Literaturkanon)
- The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013 (Flavor Wire)
- How to Read and Why (Harold Bloom)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)