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Invisible Cities

By Italo Calvino
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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
Invisible Cities follows the dialogue between the aged Mongol emperor Kublai Khan and the young Venetian explorer Marco Polo. As the empire’s twilight looms, Marco Polo describes a series of enigmatic cities he has encountered, each embodying themes of memory, desire, design, and human experience. These vivid, poetic tales weave a tapestry of fantastical places that challenge perceptions and reveal deeper truths about our dreams and fears.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$5100

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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?

This philosophical and lyrical novel will appeal to readers who enjoy imaginative world-building, reflective storytelling, and meditative explorations of memory and civilisation.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Italo Calvino's beloved, intricately crafted novel about an Emperor's travels -- a brilliant journey across far-off places and distant memory.

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

Italo Calvino's beloved, intricately crafted philosophical novel about an Emperor's travels—a brilliant journey across far-off places and distant memory.

"Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else."

In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo—Mongol emperor and Venetian traveller. Kublai Khan has sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts his host with stories of the cities he has seen in his travels around the empire: cities and memory, cities and desire, cities and designs, cities and the dead, cities and the sky, trading cities, hidden cities.

As Marco Polo unspools his tales, the emperor detects these fantastic places are more than they appear.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780156453806

Publisher: Mariner Books Classics

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 February 2003

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Mariner Books Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Weight: 0g

Pages: 176

Collections

Fantasy Fiction General Fiction Italo Calvino Sci-Fi & Fantasy Science Fiction

About the Author

ITALO CALVINO (1923-1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century's greatest storytellers. Born in Cuba, he was raised in San Remo, Italy, and later lived in Turin, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere. Among his many works are Invisible Cities, If on a winter's night a traveler, The Baron in the Trees, and other novels, as well as numerous collections of fiction, folktales, criticism, and essays. His works have been translated into dozens of languages.

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