reviews
Nov 07, 2007
Mahrya
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Normally, I hate the word "sensual" because it reminds me of essential oils and the phrase "taking a lover," and lying about on the divan whilst eating succulent grapes dripping with the juices of summer, but this collection contains essays about the senses, so I think the word actually applies in this case. If I'm remembering correctly, this is Calvino's last book. He was going to write five essays for five senses, but he died before he got there. The essay on taste is my
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Aug 28, 2011
Karlo Mikhail
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Under the Jaguar Sun is my first book by Italo Calvino, the Italian fictionist that has been much recommended to and highly anticipated by me. According to some sort of preface, Calvino originally planned a novel that puts together narratives on the five senses but he died before finishing it. So what I got are three incredible short stories that each center on a single sense – taste, hearing, and smell. I happily chanced upon Under the Jaguar Sun in a secondhand bookshop back in Iloilo.
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Nov 25, 2009
Andrew
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Rather shamefully, this the first time I've read Calvino (I have some of his other books on the shelf), but being a short story afficionado it seemed a good place to start. Three seperate stories (in both subject matter and style), the link here are the senses: taste, hearing, and smell. Apparantly there were to form a larger work containing the remaining senses, plus a possible overstory, however these can be enjoyed in their own right. Calvino died before it was completed.
"Und More...
"Und More...
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Jan 19, 2009
Trin
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This was, I belatedly realized, rather a poor place to begin reading Calvino. I chose it because it was what my library had, but as the afterword reveals (why not the foreword? That would have been much more helpful), it’s an unfinished work. Calvino had originally intended to write five short pieces, each about one of the five senses, but only three of the five were completed before he died, none received a polish, and the framing device he had intended to include wasn’t even begun. In short, t
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Sep 19, 2009
Janet
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Not sure how to "rate" this book--three short stories centering on three senses, taste, hearing, scent by the master, Italo Calvino. This small book was going to be expanded by two more stories, naturally, sight and touch, plus a frame to present them all in a certain light, when he contracted his fatal illness. The first story, Under the Jaguar Sun is five stars hands down. On taste, surprisingly enough--what I would imagine the least literary of all the senses. The second, the King
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Sep 04, 2011
Miguel
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Por lo que he leído de otros lectores, al parecer este no es de los mejores textos de Calvino. Sin embargo, me gustó y mucho. La idea de dedicar un texto a cada sentido es interesante, y más cuando a través de tal sentido se pierden las fronteras de lo temporal, como en "El nombre, la nariz"; o cuando por dicho sentido se teoriza sobre las posibilidades culinarias de ciertos ingredientes, y hasta de la dignificación de los mismos, o de cómo esto se relaciona con ser una persona insípid
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Feb 09, 2011
Zach
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Calvino is unsurpassed at exploring an idea within a narrative. He bouces around the idea, distills it, magnifies it, looks at if from far away, spins twists distorts it, until all angles, including those on the inside observable only from a place beyond the bounds of conventional three-dimensional thinking, have been examined and a seemingly inevitable conclusion has been reached. In this book, for example, smell is a story. There is a story to the sense of smell, and only Calvino could disc
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Nov 13, 2009
Barry
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I think in reality, smell is my least favorite sense, which is the case here with that story. I'm also torn about hearing, in life and in this book, myriad reasonings for the former, the latter it was great in that 2nd-person device and humor of it, but it was also just so insubstantial at a certain point and maybe even a little overwritten? Is that a ridiculous criticism when reading Calvino?
"Under the Jaguar Sun" is one of the best shorts I've ever read. It starts off his More...
"Under the Jaguar Sun" is one of the best shorts I've ever read. It starts off his More...
Mar 16, 2011
Katie
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The three short stories contained in this collection showcase Calvino's incredible narrative skill. Without hesitation, we dive full on into a world of characters intensely affected and consumed by one of their senses. In the first story Under the Jaguar Sun, we follow a couple's journey through the taste-scape of a modern day Mexico: this story, a true delight for any foodie or new lover alike. The second story, A King Listens, strays a bit from the safety of Calvino's typical magical realism l
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Jan 24, 2011
Venus
rated it:
می خواهم اخرین تلاش را هم بکنم ، یک بار دیگر قطار شماره ای را بگیرم که در مقابل نام تو ، در مقابل چهره تو و در مقابل تو صف کشیده اند ، اگر وصل شد خوب است و گرنه از شماره گرفتن دست می کشم و آن وقت به چیزهایی که هرگز به تو نخواهم گفت فکر می کنم . افکار بیش از آنکه درباره تو باشند درباره تلفن است اینکه با رابطه ای که از طریق تلفن با تو داشته ام و درست تر این که با رابطه ای که از طریق تو با تلفن داشته ام چه کار باید بکنم
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Mar 24, 2010
Jett
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Three short stories, each focusing on a different bodily sense (taste, hearing, smell). The writing is pyrotechnic: Calvino is clearly a master of description and of getting into the implications of what it might mean to taste, hear, or smell things. But these stories lack almost everything that makes stories interesting--plot, characterization, pacing, and so forth. They kind of plod along with little happening besides the dazzling prose, and then suddenly there's an explosion of unexpected
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Oct 04, 2011
Charlie
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I like the concept of a collection of stories about the five senses (even if Mr Calvino only ended up writing about three of them), though I can't say my expectations were quite met. The second story, and parts of the third, were fantastic, but the first one did nothing for me, and I got the feeling something was missing, somehow, that there wasn't really anything tying the stories together. I suppose if Mr Calvino had lived long enough to write all five stories there would have been a stronger
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Mar 07, 2011
Rhys
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Not the finest Calvino book by any means. That's because it's a slight piece of art in the sense that it's an unfinished project... But in her Afterword, Esther Calvino asks for readers to regard this book not in that manner but rather as three standalone (though connected) short stories. That's exactly how they would be read if they were included with other stories in a larger collection (maybe they should have been part of the *Numbers in the Dark* collection?)
The truth is that the More...
The truth is that the More...
Apr 17, 2010
Adam
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Originally intended as a collection of stories each emphasizing one sense (smell, sound, etc.), Calvino died before he could finish them. He probably didn't even fully finish editing them. The title story (Under The Jaguar Sun, taste) is a little banal, though of course the writing is great. This short collection of stories is worth reading, though, for the story about sound. Never have I read anything that gives such a great feel for hearing through the written word.
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Apr 12, 2011
apoc1985
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A esta colección de cuentos sobre los 5 sentidos, a pesar de que debido a la muerte del autor le faltaron por escribir dos, los tres que dejó para la posteridad valen la pena leer y releer. Olfato, gusto y oído nos acompañan a conocer historias disímiles que sin embargo, se unen a través de alto tan sencillo pero tan real como lo son los sentidos.
Es de resaltar y de reconocer el manejo del segundo cuento y que da el nombre al título de la colección. Recomendable especialmente para aq More...
Es de resaltar y de reconocer el manejo del segundo cuento y que da el nombre al título de la colección. Recomendable especialmente para aq More...
Jul 26, 2009
jeanie
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Got this book at the library, as it was the only Calvino book available (and it was a good size to read on a plane.) The first story, about eating and traveling in Mexico was sortof interesting. The second story about the crazy king listening to the palace was too long. The third story about smelling people was a bit fragmented and maybe a little weird. Not too crazy about this book, but will give Calvino another chance if I run across a different book.
Jan 09, 2009
Shawn
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Probably my least favorite Calvino book, and the reason for it, which I found out about halfway through, is that this was an unfinished work. Calvino died before finishing it. He was planning on a book with a story for each of the five senses, but only ever finished three stories, plus, as his wife points out at the end of the book, he would have ended up reworking the stories, so Under the Jaguar Sun is essentially rough drafts of three Calvino stories.
Jun 10, 2008
Max
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Under the Jaguar Sun revels in detailed sensory description, and does so phenomenally well. A favorite example which occurs early on:
Just as colonial baroque set no limits on the profusion of ornament and display, in which God's presence was identified in a closely calculated delirium of brimming, excessive sensations, so the curing of the hundred or more native varieties of hot peppers carefully selected for each dish opened vistas of a flaming ecstasy.
This simile is so More...
Just as colonial baroque set no limits on the profusion of ornament and display, in which God's presence was identified in a closely calculated delirium of brimming, excessive sensations, so the curing of the hundred or more native varieties of hot peppers carefully selected for each dish opened vistas of a flaming ecstasy.
This simile is so More...
Jun 09, 2010
Baudolino
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A collection of short stories (perhaps a trio as opposed to a collection) centered around the central theme of "senses". They're all solid reads with quite surprising endings (the last one had me going "gyah" out loud at the poolside), and much food for thought.
They definitely stand on their own, but I can imagine how cool they would have been in a "if on a winter's night a traveler" type framework.
They definitely stand on their own, but I can imagine how cool they would have been in a "if on a winter's night a traveler" type framework.
Feb 24, 2011
Clare
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I liked the underlying theme of the 5 senses (although he's missing two) but the Calvino I love from his novels is somewhat missing. The stories seemed to be a bit lost in translation. However, the last one, The Name, The Nose, feels like Calvino. It intertwines three narratives about the importance of scent in mating - one in swinging London, one in 19th century Paris and one more primal, animalistic. This is the Calvino I love, the other two stories were lacking.
Jul 29, 2011
Electric . I am lucky to have read this book of Calvino first than any other of his books . The experience was intense . His words transform and transend the senses of taste , sound and smell and takes one to a different world altogether. unique world of personal experiences mingling with imaginations of what "could be" ..
Aug 02, 2011
Ryan
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Great 3 Part book. The first part reminded me of some of the funniest misinterpretations I was told during thesis. The second part really defined the insanity of the King in Medieval Society. The third part was quite morbid and rivaled some of the strangest macabre I've read....
Jan 29, 2012
Ariadna73
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Fue lo primero que le. Son tres relatos sobre los sentidos: gusto, odo y olfato. Lstima que Calvino se muri y no escribi ni vista ni tacto... porque habran sido magistrales como estos. Recuerdo especialmente el oido, porque lo une a la soledad y al miedo a perder. Maravilloso.
Nov 16, 2010
Ettore.bilbo
rated it:
Un progetto incompleto purtroppo questo, dovevano essere cinque racconti dedicati ad ognuno dei cinque sensi ma si è fermato a tre, probabilmente senza neppure rivedere al meglio quanto scritto...
è pur sempre calvino però...
è pur sempre calvino però...
Dec 20, 2008
Jonathan
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Calvino is masterful in crafting beautiful imagery, in these stories though that is all there is, which bored me. The three stories center on taste, sound, and smell. I could only get through taste and sound though.
Aug 12, 2011
Art
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Three fairly dull stories from a usually brilliant author. The afterword says that Calvino died before properly editing and finishing this book - that explains a lot.
Mar 22, 2009
Zosh
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The first story is wondrous.
The second story bored me.
The third one ruled a lot.
Calvino died before he finished this novel... I bet it was going to be spectacular.
The second story bored me.
The third one ruled a lot.
Calvino died before he finished this novel... I bet it was going to be spectacular.
Jan 11, 2010
Ryniee
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Given to me by my high school english lit teacher as a graduation present. Very clever and fully engages the five senses...literally.
May 17, 2010
Reading
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read this review and others at http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/201...
Nov 30, 2011
Tim
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These Calvino stories about the senses of taste, sound, and smell were a small appetizer and not a full meal.
