4 ms·

Italo Calvino: A traveller in a world of uncertainty

122 points by lermontov 7mo ago

sgwizdak 7mo ago
Great article - "Invisible Cities" was my introduction to his work and remains a favorite.
- riffraff 7mo ago
  It's my favorite work of literature, I have gifted it to a bunch of people over the years and most have appreciated it too. You are bound to find at least one city that will stay with you.
- mcphage 7mo ago
  I’m here for the Invisible Cities fan club!
kelseyfrog 7mo ago
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller gives the reader the impression that there must be a system at play and gives up some of its secrets easily. However, there remains a persistent feeling, after reading each section, that there are other connections - threads of deliberate meaning - between them all that slip through your fingers as you desperately try to clutch more and more fragments passing by. It's one of my favorite books precisely because it generates this feeling and led me to Perec's Life: A User's Manual among other fantastic works.
- windowliker 7mo ago
  >[...] and led me to Perec's Life: A User's Manua For people who may be unfamiliar with this (excellent) connection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo
- _aavaa_ 7mo ago
  You will likely enjoy this discussion of Calvino’s work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI16Txc7x1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI16Txc7x1s
  - kelseyfrog 7mo ago
    Definitely! That's what kicked off my interest :)
  - dang 7mo ago
    Also mentioned here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35197000 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35197000 (March 2023)
- giannicmptr1000 7mo ago
  It is also one of my favorite books. Magical writing.
simonsarris 7mo ago
As a fan of Calvino I will say that If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller is somewhat more enjoyable after you've read a bunch of other Calvino, since it has a somewhat cheeky, self-referential feel and the more you sympathize with the author the more you may like it. Numbers in the Dark is very good as a place to start.
- SubGenius 7mo ago
  Marcovaldo, Cosmicomics, Difficult Loves are my favorite. Baron in the Trees too. I'd definitely suggest starting with these. His short story work is beautiful.
  - pimeys 7mo ago
    The Baron in the Trees is mentioned so rarely always, but it was one of the most influential books of my youth. A fantastic read.
  - amarcheschi 7mo ago
    In italian high schools you learn to hate a lot of what you do, just because you're a student and can't be bothered to enjoy an analysis of some themes - then when you're a bit older you start to appreciate what you hated much more
  - kgwgk 7mo ago
    > Cosmicomics Damn Qfwfq.
  - mcphage 7mo ago
    Invisible Cities is my absolute favorite of his short stories.
- atombender 7mo ago
  I absolutely loved Invisible Cities, but I couldn't get more than a couple of chapters into If on a Winter's Night. The first pages are very evocative, but it gets really repetitive with nothing to "progress" the "plot". My impression (possibly mistaken) is that it's a product of its time that was innovative, but hasn't aged that well. More a fun puzzle box than something with emotional weight. Given the above, what other Calvino work might appeal more to someone like me?
OhMeadhbh 7mo ago
Reminds me of this linked in profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-de-foucauld-0b1323287/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-de-foucauld-0b1323287/
dang 7mo ago
Related. Others? The Timeless Magic of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities at 50 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43511876 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43511876 - March 2025 (1 comment) The Human Reader: Italo Calvino foresaw generative AI’s necessary companion - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35764984 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35764984 - April 2023 (1 comment) The Worlds of Italo Calvino - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35178426 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35178426 - March 2023 (47 comments) What would it be like if Italo Calvino and Sun Tzu explained refactoring? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35150753 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35150753 - March 2023 (3 comments) Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26395898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26395898 - March 2021 (28 comments) The Penguin Book of Oulipo review – writing, a user's manual - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21869669 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21869669 - Dec 2019 (2 comments) Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21340794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21340794 - Oct 2019 (29 comments) The Movies of My Youth - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10151334 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10151334 - Sept 2015 (5 comments) Cybernetics and Ghosts (1967) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9001508 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9001508 - Feb 2015 (1 comment)
MrBuddyCasino 7mo ago
Only read Path To The Spider‘s Nest so far, had no trouble finishing it. Rare these days. Recommend!
xhevahir 7mo ago
I've never been able to get into Calvino. Those works of his that I've read mostly felt like games and puzzles, sterile mental exercises, or inconsequential fantasy.
Rant423 7mo ago
recommendations: * Our Ancestors (The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Nonexistent Knight) * The Complete Cosmicomics (Cosmicomics, t zero, + others) * Invisible Cities * If on a winter's night a traveler

122 points by lermontov 7mo ago

sgwizdak 7mo ago

Great article - "Invisible Cities" was my introduction to his work and remains a favorite.

riffraff 7mo ago
It's my favorite work of literature, I have gifted it to a bunch of people over the years and most have appreciated it too. You are bound to find at least one city that will stay with you.
mcphage 7mo ago
I’m here for the Invisible Cities fan club!

kelseyfrog 7mo ago

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller gives the reader the impression that there must be a system at play and gives up some of its secrets easily. However, there remains a persistent feeling, after reading each section, that there are other connections - threads of deliberate meaning - between them all that slip through your fingers as you desperately try to clutch more and more fragments passing by. It's one of my favorite books precisely because it generates this feeling and led me to Perec's Life: A User's Manual among other fantastic works.

windowliker 7mo ago
>[...] and led me to Perec's Life: A User's Manua For people who may be unfamiliar with this (excellent) connection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo
_aavaa_ 7mo ago
You will likely enjoy this discussion of Calvino’s work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI16Txc7x1s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI16Txc7x1s
- kelseyfrog 7mo ago
  Definitely! That's what kicked off my interest :)
- dang 7mo ago
  Also mentioned here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35197000 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35197000 (March 2023)
giannicmptr1000 7mo ago
It is also one of my favorite books. Magical writing.

simonsarris 7mo ago

As a fan of Calvino I will say that If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller is somewhat more enjoyable after you've read a bunch of other Calvino, since it has a somewhat cheeky, self-referential feel and the more you sympathize with the author the more you may like it. Numbers in the Dark is very good as a place to start.

SubGenius 7mo ago
Marcovaldo, Cosmicomics, Difficult Loves are my favorite. Baron in the Trees too. I'd definitely suggest starting with these. His short story work is beautiful.
- pimeys 7mo ago
  The Baron in the Trees is mentioned so rarely always, but it was one of the most influential books of my youth. A fantastic read.
- amarcheschi 7mo ago
  In italian high schools you learn to hate a lot of what you do, just because you're a student and can't be bothered to enjoy an analysis of some themes - then when you're a bit older you start to appreciate what you hated much more
- kgwgk 7mo ago
  > Cosmicomics Damn Qfwfq.
- mcphage 7mo ago
  Invisible Cities is my absolute favorite of his short stories.
atombender 7mo ago
I absolutely loved Invisible Cities, but I couldn't get more than a couple of chapters into If on a Winter's Night. The first pages are very evocative, but it gets really repetitive with nothing to "progress" the "plot". My impression (possibly mistaken) is that it's a product of its time that was innovative, but hasn't aged that well. More a fun puzzle box than something with emotional weight. Given the above, what other Calvino work might appeal more to someone like me?

OhMeadhbh 7mo ago

Reminds me of this linked in profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-de-foucauld-0b1323287/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-de-foucauld-0b1323287/

dang 7mo ago

Related. Others? The Timeless Magic of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities at 50 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43511876 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43511876 - March 2025 (1 comment) The Human Reader: Italo Calvino foresaw generative AI’s necessary companion - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35764984 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35764984 - April 2023 (1 comment) The Worlds of Italo Calvino - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35178426 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35178426 - March 2023 (47 comments) What would it be like if Italo Calvino and Sun Tzu explained refactoring? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35150753 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35150753 - March 2023 (3 comments) Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26395898 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26395898 - March 2021 (28 comments) The Penguin Book of Oulipo review – writing, a user's manual - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21869669 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21869669 - Dec 2019 (2 comments) Italo Calvino, The Art of Fiction No. 130 (1992) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21340794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21340794 - Oct 2019 (29 comments) The Movies of My Youth - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10151334 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10151334 - Sept 2015 (5 comments) Cybernetics and Ghosts (1967) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9001508 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9001508 - Feb 2015 (1 comment)

MrBuddyCasino 7mo ago

Only read Path To The Spider‘s Nest so far, had no trouble finishing it. Rare these days. Recommend!

xhevahir 7mo ago

I've never been able to get into Calvino. Those works of his that I've read mostly felt like games and puzzles, sterile mental exercises, or inconsequential fantasy.

Rant423 7mo ago

recommendations: * Our Ancestors (The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Nonexistent Knight) * The Complete Cosmicomics (Cosmicomics, t zero, + others) * Invisible Cities * If on a winter's night a traveler