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Collection of Sand

Essays
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( 803 ratings, 91 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Collection of Sand, Italo Calvino delves into the enchanting realm where art, culture, and keen observation intersect. This collection of essays reflects on topics like museums, travelling circuses, and the sense of wonder they inspire. Through his articulate reflections, Calvino invites readers to contemplate the intricate beauty and ephemeral nature of the world around us.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate insightful reflections on art, culture, and the complexities of human perception. It offers captivating essays and observations on a remarkable range of subjects, from ancient maps to modern museums, showcasing the author's unique ability to weave together the mundane and the extraordinary with intellectual curiosity and poetic flair.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

With encyclopedic knowledge, this title writes about such diverse subjects as the imaginative pleasures of maps, bizarre exhibitions and the earliest forms of written language. It provides a glimpse into the mind of a master of the magination.

Newly translated into English for the first time, Collection of Sand provides a glimpse into the mind of a master of the imagination.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Calvino's fascinating and cerebral collection of essays celebrating all aspects of the visual, translated for the first time and new to Penguin Modern Classics.

Italo Calvino claimed that 'the brain begins in the eye'. The essays collected here display his fascination with the visual universe, in which the things we see tell a truth about the world.

With encyclopedic knowledge and engaging curiosity, Calvino writes about such diverse subjects as the imaginative pleasures of maps, bizarre exhibitions, and the earliest forms of written language. Books and paintings provoke discussions of artistic motivation, while descriptions of a meticulous Japanese garden, Trajan's column crumbling to dust, or a Mexican temple smothered by the jungle lead to contemplations on space, time, and civilisation.

Surprising and profound, Collection of Sand provides a glimpse into the mind of a master of the imagination.

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Collection of Sand is praised for its ability to alter perceptions of the world, offering insights into Italo Calvino's inquisitive mind and showcasing his philosophical humour. The book is described as a delightful and pleasurable read, filled with whimsy and reflective essays.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141193748

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 2013

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 179g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Italo Calvino, one of Italy's finest postwar writers, has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple, fable-like stories. Calvino was born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. He died in Siena in 1985, of a brain hemorrhage. Martin L. McLaughlin is Professor of Italian and Fiat-Serena Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Oxford where he is a Fellow of Magdalen College. He is the English translator of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino among many others.

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