Invisible Cities (Picador Books)

by Italo Calvino

William Weaver (Translator)

3.92 of 5 stars 6 ratings • 1 review • 13 shelved
Book cover for Invisible Cities
Shelve It

Bookhype may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure.

Fifty-five fictional cities, each described in beautiful detail - each with a woman's name...

In Invisible Cities Marco Polo conjures up cities of magical times for his host, the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, but gradually it becomes clear that he is actually describing one city: Venice. As Gore Vidal wrote 'Of all tasks, describing the contents of a book is the most difficult and in the case of a marvellous invention like Invisible Cities, perfectly irrelevant.'

This is a captivating meditation on culture, language, time, memory and the nature of human experience.

'Invisible Cities changed the way we read and what is possible in the balance between poetry and prose... The book I would choose as pillow and plate, alone on a desert island' Jeanette Winterson

'Touches inexhaustibly on the essence of the human urge to create cities, be in cities, speak of cities' Guardian

'A subtle and beautiful meditation' Sunday Times

  • ISBN10 0099429837
  • ISBN13 9780099429838
  • Publish Date 2 October 1997 (first published 8 June 1979)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 28 January 2021
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Vintage Publishing
  • Imprint Vintage Classics
  • Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
  • Pages 160
  • Language English