For the first time in paperback--a volume of thirty-seven diabolically inventive stories, fables, and "impossible interviews" from one of...
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Jan 27, 2008
Chris
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"And Ida is one of those girls who run into you and immediately start telling you their life stories and what they think about things, even though they hardly know you: girls with no secrets, except for things that are secrets to them too; and even for those secrets they'll find words, everyday words that sprout effortlessly, as if their thoughts budded ready-clothed in a tissue of words."
"Only in a superficial sense can lies be said to exclude the truth; you will be a More...
"Only in a superficial sense can lies be said to exclude the truth; you will be a More...
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Aug 13, 2011
False
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Short stories are interesting when considered as a medium of their own. What I mean by this is, some authors and fiction writers are better at certain types of fiction. Not necessarily better at certain types of fiction when compared to other writers, but better in comparison to their own works of different types. For instance, Nabokov is a master of the novel (perhaps the best in terms of structure and one of the best in terms of raw prose), but all of his short stories are terrible. There is o
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Jul 30, 2011
Kurt
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Although this collection of short stories had some really nice moments, I was ultimately unimpressed. I had heard great things about Italo Calvino, how he's an Italian version of Borges, and I can certainly see the similarities to the great Argentine author, but Calvino does not benefit from the comparison.
The collection is organized chronologically, as far as I can tell, and it begins with promise. There are a few pedestrian extended jokes and adolescent musings on love, but there are More...
The collection is organized chronologically, as far as I can tell, and it begins with promise. There are a few pedestrian extended jokes and adolescent musings on love, but there are More...
Oct 21, 2007
Marcus
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I just started browsing through the brief stories in this book. They all seem to be grasping at large ideas, but nothing is actualized. I think that I'll have to get a full length novel to really get a feel for ol' Italo. I also just grabbed a documentary about Fellini that has Mr. Calvino interviews. I think I'll base my like/dislike of his writing based on his hair cut. I hope he has a good barber.
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Apr 17, 2011
Ben
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I have very mixed feelings about this collection. Some of the stories were absolutely amazing and reaffirmed my conviction that Calvino is one of the greatest writers of the 21st century. At the same time, though, some of them fell into the trap of abstraction and density that he sometimes falls into (similar to his fellow countryman, Umberto Eco). Stories like 'The Man Who Shouted Teresa,' 'Making Do,' 'Solidarity,' 'The Black Sheep,' 'The Lost Regiment,' 'A General in the Library,' 'The Tribe
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Jun 02, 2009
Zack
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Friends have observed that I tend to appreciate good concepts over good execution. I would not argue with this. As such, Italo Calvino is just the author for me. Whenever I start another of his works, I am stunned by the premises that he comes up with: be it a shy, newly-evolved amphibian lifeform embarassed of his ichthyoid uncle, or a book that defies all of your attempts to read it, or a time when the Moon was reachable from the Earth by a ladder. Numbers in the Dark is no exception, but, ala
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Jan 26, 2008
Josh
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While I really love Calvino's novels I think he is at his best when writing short stories. "Conscience" is a particular favorite.
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Apr 11, 2011
Paul
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If you're looking to read some Calvino for the first time, do not buy this book. May I instead highly recommend the magnificent The Complete Cosmicomics - it will not disappoint.
'Numbers in the Dark' an interesting and creative collection of short stories. Not all of them are good (this coming from a hardcore Calvino fan) but arguably the collection is the more interesting for it. His earlier stories are either delightfully simple yet engaging parables or more long-winded forays into More...
'Numbers in the Dark' an interesting and creative collection of short stories. Not all of them are good (this coming from a hardcore Calvino fan) but arguably the collection is the more interesting for it. His earlier stories are either delightfully simple yet engaging parables or more long-winded forays into More...
Apr 25, 2009
Tiah
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Very enjoyable. I gave a copy of this book to one of my preferred musicians. I hope he enjoys it, and if he doesn't I want my money back. Or a free ticket to the next show I see...Regardless I like what Calvino does, and here it is less of the intricate odd story line that is so comfortable with him and more little blurbs of awesomeness.
Nov 03, 2009
Xiphias
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A collection of short stories written by Calvino throughout his life. From playful stories from his youth to failed attempts at novels to allegories of italian elections in the 1950s using british naval battles as a metaphor, this book runs the gamut.
Mar 15, 2009
Natalie
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Calvino can spin the prettiest and most charming little universes in just a few pages. These are thirty-seven of his short stories, most of which delighted me - some others are a little darker, but for the most part I found myself smiling the entire way through. Highlights are: The Man Who Shouted Teresa, Before You Say Hello, A General in the Library, and Beheading the Heads.
Aug 01, 2010
Selim
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Incredibly creative short stories that take up both simple and intricate matters of life and turn them upside down
Dec 20, 2009
Cari Anne
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This is the first book I have read by Calvino and I was very impressed by his unique writing style. His stories are quirky and inventive and always left me with a new perspective to mull over which I greatly appreciate in any type of writing. I will definitly look into reading more of his works. A highly recommended good read!
Oct 26, 2011
Zar
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I enjoyed love far from home, before you say hello and the dialogue with henry ford
Oct 26, 2009
Dan
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really good stories about two old men, really good interview with Henry Ford
Nov 08, 2011
cras
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I felt that this collection of stories ranged story-by-story from thoroughly brilliant and engrossing to somewhat rambling and lackluster, but i am giving it a high rating because the brilliant far outnumbered the rambling. Always fantastical, intriguing, absurd but with a poignant point these stories are both entertaining and in-depth. It is also interesting that since this collection spanned calvino's entire existence as a writer, one can see the developments and ebbs and flows of his s
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Jan 24, 2011
Selby
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This felt like an uneven collection of stories--some delightful, some unraveled. "Amore Lontano di Casa" was among the most beautiful, but otherwise it seemed to me that the book began auspiciously with the friendly & absurd parable of community, "L'uomo chi chiamava Teresa," and began to go slowly downhill thereafter. The interviews were particularly belabored; but I did like the 'vocabulario' of sound/sense at the end, which makes you feel like a child doing crossword puz
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Jan 06, 2007
casey
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Each word written by Calvino is strategic. The impressive part is that this important fact seems not to be lost in translation. The real appeal of this book, for me, is that his characters are almost achingly real and non-glamorous, but the fact that these stories are set in a time and places so different from my own experience, they almost seem fantastic. Time and again, Calvino impresses with his ability to make the most simple circumstances come alive.
Jul 03, 2008
Joshua
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The impossible interviews - Neanderthal Man, Montezuma, & Henry Ford - these should probably be required reading for all humans.
The chronological progression is a beauty to observe. There is seemingly a whole life in this one book, through snapshots.
Made me very excited to read everything I can by him, and I feel like reading this first will help to put things into perspective as I go through it all.
The chronological progression is a beauty to observe. There is seemingly a whole life in this one book, through snapshots.
Made me very excited to read everything I can by him, and I feel like reading this first will help to put things into perspective as I go through it all.
May 21, 2011
Elizabeth (Alaska)
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Calvino writes a beautiful sentence and that is the most praise I can give for this book. It was excrutiatingly painful, and I'm not sure it doesn't deserve only 1 star. reducio ad absurdum was a phrase that continually came to my mind in some of the stories and I couldn't see that he was saying anything worthwhile in about 90% of them. I see others like this author. He simply doesn't speak to me.
Oct 23, 2008
Matthew
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Just how Calvino can send you careening over the mountain tops and up into the thinnest parts of the atmosphere in stories that are only one or two pages long baffles me. Everything in this book is utterly pleasing. How the translator achieved Calvino's magic in English is also a miracle, it must have been quite a labor.
This book is made of magic.
This book is made of magic.
Feb 09, 2009
Lua
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I keep re-reading this book...over and over and I like it every time...but it is a strange surprise, one that I don't expect.
Apr 03, 2009
Kath
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This is a book of short stories by one of my favorite authors (I also love Mr. Palomar and Invisible Cities). They are a little bit like fables or parables and sometimes humorous. Not good if you're wanting to get all wrapped up in a character or a narrative, but good for short quick bursts of quirky Italian sensibility.
Aug 04, 2011
Tyler
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These stories are short works of art. Moments captured in round.
One in particular i couldnt get out of my head.
I went back to reread it thinking it was at least five pages long.
Upon returning, it seems only one paragraph was used to shape such fullness in my mind. awesome.
One in particular i couldnt get out of my head.
I went back to reread it thinking it was at least five pages long.
Upon returning, it seems only one paragraph was used to shape such fullness in my mind. awesome.
Aug 21, 2009
Evan
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Many of the stories are more like fiction exercises than full narratives; nonetheless, I wish my fiction exercises were this good...
Oct 29, 2007
Rose
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i've read these stories at least once, and i'm not as impressed with it as i am with invisible cities. the story of the lost jewlery is good, and stuck with me the longest, but overall, not as strong or fascinating as his others
Jan 14, 2010
Melinda
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Italo Calvino is fast becoming a favorite author. The short story, Beheading the Heads, in this volume has given me hours of thought. Really, if you add up all the minutes . . . its hours.
Jul 04, 2011
Vanessa
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This was read aloud to me while I was sick in Turkey with a traveler's bug. This book made the bug totally worth it and turned the rented room into a incubator of magic.
