As Cidades Invisíveis

Calvino imagines a conversation between the aging emperor Kublai Khan and the explorer Marco Polo, who describes dozens of cities he claims to have visited. The cities are grouped by theme, such as cities and memory, cities and desire, thin cities, continuous cities, hidden cities, and each one is presented as a small riddle. Polo's reports are sometimes contradictory, and Kublai suspects that he is inventing them, but he listens anyway, because the cities help him think about his empire. Over the course of the book, the dialogue becomes a meditation on how we see and remember places.

It suits readers who enjoy imaginative, philosophical fiction, and those interested in cities and architecture.

Deep, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?