Italo Calvino






Italo Calvino

author profile


born
October 15, 1923

died
September 19, 1985

gender
male

place of birth
Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba

genre
Literature & Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs

influences
Joseph Conrad, Oulipo


about this author

Italo Calvino was born in Cuba and grew up in Italy. He was a journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy (1952-1959), the Cosmicomics collection of short stories (1965), and the novels Invisible Cities (1972) and If On a Winter's Night a Traveler (1979).

His style is not easily classified; much of his writing has an air of the fantastic reminiscent of fairy tales (Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics), although sometimes his writing is more "realistic" and in the scenic mode of observation (Difficult Loves, for example). Some of his writing has been called postmodern, reflecting on literature and the act of reading, while some has been labeled magical realist, others ...more




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avg rating: 4.05 | 25,383 ratings | 2,309 reviews | 111 distinct works | 126 fans
If On a Winter's Night a Trave... If On a Winter's Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino, William Weaver (Translator)
avg rating 4.14 — 5,591 ratings — published 1979
49 editions
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Invisible Cities Invisible Cities
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 4.23 — 4,838 ratings — published 1972
38 editions
my rating:
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The Baron in the Trees The Baron in the Trees
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 4.03 — 2,564 ratings — published 1959
36 editions
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Cosmicomics Cosmicomics
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 4.18 — 1,936 ratings — published 1965
29 editions
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The Nonexistent Knight and The... The Nonexistent Knight and The Cloven Viscount
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 3.94 — 987 ratings — published 1977
3 editions
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Difficult Loves Difficult Loves
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 3.87 — 898 ratings — published 1970
11 editions
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Italian Folktales Italian Folktales
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 4.11 — 647 ratings — published 1956
24 editions
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Six Memos for the Next Millenn... Six Memos for the Next Millennium
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 4.15 — 537 ratings — published 1988
20 editions
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Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in... Marcovaldo: or the Seasons in the City
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 3.94 — 524 ratings — published 1963
32 editions
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Mr. Palomar Mr. Palomar
by Italo Calvino
avg rating 3.87 — 523 ratings — published 1983
20 editions
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"In the shop window you have promptly identified the cover with the title you were looking for. Following this visual trail, you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven't Read, which are frowning at you from the tables and shelves, trying to cow you...And thus you pass the outer girdle of ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered. With a rapid maneuver you bypass them and move into the phalanxes of the Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First, the Books Too Expensive Now And You'll Wait Till They're Remaindered, the Books ditto When They Come Out in Paperback, Books You Can Borrow From Somebody, Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You Had Read Them, Too. "
Italo Calvino (If On a Winter's Night a Traveler)
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"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say."
Italo Calvino
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"What makes lovemaking and reading resemble each other most is that within both of them times and spaces open, different from measurable time and space."
Italo Calvino
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topics mentioning this author

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