The Complete Cosmicomics - Softcover

Calvino, Italo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0544577876 ISBN 13: 9780544577879

Publisher: Mariner Books Classics, 2015

Synopsis

"We were peering into this darkness, criss-crossed with voices, when the change took place: the only real, great change I've ever happened to witness, and compared to it the rest is nothing." -- from The Complete Cosmicomics

Italo Calvino's beloved cosmicomics cross planets and traverse galaxies, speed up time or slow it down to the particles of an instant. Through the eyes of an ageless guide named Qfwfq, Calvino explores natural phenomena and tells the story of the origins of the universe. Poignant, fantastical, and wise, these thirty-four dazzling stories -- collected here in one definitive anthology -- relate complex scientific and mathematical concepts to our everyday world. They are an indelible (and unfailingly delightful) literary achievement.

"Nimble and often hilarious . . . Trying to describe such a diverse and entertaining mix, I have to admit, just as Calvino does so often, that my words fail here, too. There's no way I -- or anyone, really -- can muster enough of them to quite capture the magic of these stories . . . Read this book, please." -- Colin Dwyer, NPR

About this title

Review:

It's a joy to have all the Cosmicomics within one cover - and a handsome cover it is, and a well-made book...and Martin McLaughlin's introduction couldn't be better as a guide to these dazzlingly idiosyncratic tales...Calvino was ahead of his time in so many ways that only now, 25 years after his death, is his work widely perceived not as marginal because it is fantasy, but as a landmark in fiction, the work of a master. -- Ursula K Le Guin, The Guardian, Saturday 13 June 2009

About the Author:

"Italy's most beloved modern writer" (Washington Post), ITALO CALVINO (1923-1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century's greatest storytellers. His works--including the novels Invisible Cities, If on a winter's night a traveler, and The Baron in the Trees--have been translated into dozens of languages.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books Classics
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0544577876
• ISBN 13: 9780544577879
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432