Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino Review

 Title: Invisible Cities
Author: Italo Calvino
Genre: Fiction, Magical Realism

Blurb: Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his." So begins Italo Calvino's compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about Armilla, which "has nothing that makes it seem a city, except the water pipes that rise vertically where the houses should be and spread out horizontally where the floors should be," the spider-web city of Octavia, and other marvelous burgs, it may be that he is creating them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating fine details of his native Venice over and over again, or perhaps he is simply recounting some of the myriad possible forms a city might take.

Me: I picked this book up in Faulkner House Books, a New Orleans bookstore in the most picturesque alley with the best vibes. I knew I had to get a book there and I chose Invisible Cities because I'd heard great things about it and the cover was so unique (almost like a textured cover?). I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it, because it's a stunning book that almost defies classification: a collection of vignettes, a bunch of traveling tales, and just pockets of imagination in one? 

The Ups: The whole book sets its premise on Marco Polo describing his travels and the places he's been to Kublai Khan, who wants to know everything he can about his massive empire. There are little snippets of their conversations at the beginning and end of each section, but most of the book itself consists of small, maybe one-page descriptions of different cities. None of them are explicitly familiar or real, but all explore a different aspect of the crazy, marvelous phenomenon of a city, a civilization living together.

I particularly enjoyed that there were a few subtle but very clear themes that Calvino named. Before each description of a city, he would group it under a heading, such as "Cities & Memory," "Cities & Signs," "Thin Cities," "Trading Cities," etc. It was such a great way of almost guiding the reader through what else might be an overwhelming anthology. They acted as almost like little reminders of what to think about for each city. 

But more than anything, the descriptions of the cities themselves are what make this book incredible. It's amazing to see how Calvino could create such complexity by just simple language and imagined places; we know the cities that extend into the ground or hang from skies can't be real, but there's something about the physical realities of these cities that illuminates the hidden social realities of our real ones. Each one is so short that the whole book feels very readable as each city kind of passes and blurs; but what's fascinating is this blurring creates the overall effect of all the cities kind of becoming one. 

Personally, I hadn't ever really thought of or questioned the existence of cities before reading this. It seems so natural, just the way people congregate. But it was only after reading about the constantly changing and hoping and growing cities of Calvino that I realized the city is a very chaotic, beautiful thing. They're almost like external projections of human nature and desire itself, and Calvino encapsulates that so masterfully. 

The Downs: Maybe that it felt so short? I feel like I could have read these descriptions forever...

And just for fun- so much incredible art has been inspired by these cities! A collection can be found here. (Can someone make a book with his descriptions & then little illustrations??) 

Rating: 5 kisses!!