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 202nd greatest book of all time
Purchase from
Bookshop.org or
Amazon
- Published
- 1972
- Nationality
- Italian
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 165
- Original Language
- Italian
- Avg User Rating
-
(4.0)
- Alternate Titles
-
- As Cidades Invisíveis
- As cidades invisíveis
- De Osynliga Städerna
- Die Unsichtbaren Städte
- Die unsichtbaren Städte
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following 24 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)
- 71st on The 100 Most Important Translations (Notos Magazine (Turkey))
- 77th on 4chan’s Literature Board’s Aggregate Top 100 Books for the Decade 2014 - 2024 (Reddit)
- 93rd on 100 Essential Books (Bravo! Magazine)
- 93rd on The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English (The Guardian)
- 281st on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 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)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature (The Center for Fiction)
- 25 Books to Read Before You Die: World Edition (Powell's Books)
- 40 Most Important Books, 1927-2001 (World Literature Today)
- Donald Barthelme’s Reading List (Believer Mag)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- How to Read and Why (Harold Bloom)
- List of the 100 best Italian books of the last 200 years (IL RIFUGIO DELL'IRCOCERVO)
- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime (Esquire)
- The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013 (Flavor Wire)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities (XLSemanal and Zenda)
- The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time (Refinery29)
- Top 10 Books by Jeanette Winterson (Radical Reads)
- Zeit Literaturkanon (https://www.librarything.com/award/335/ZEIT-Literaturkanon)