The Complete Cosmicomics (Penguin Modern Classics) - Softcover

Calvino, Italo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141189681 ISBN 13: 9780141189680

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2010

Synopsis

Italo Calvino's enchanting stories about the evolution of the universe, with characters that are fashioned from mathematical formulae and cellular structures, The Complete Cosmicomics is translated by Martin McLaughlin, Tim Parks and William Weaver in Penguin Modern Classics.

'Naturally, we were all there, - dld Qfwfq said, - where else could we have been? Nobody knew then that there could be space. Or time either: what use did we have for time, packed in there like sardines?'

The Cosmicomics tell the story of the history of the universe, from the big bang, through millennia and across galaxies. It is witnessed through the eyes of 'cosmic know-it-all' Qfwfq, an exuberant, chameleon-like figure, who takes the shape of a dinosaur, a mollusc, a steamer captain and a moon milk gatherer, among others. This is the first complete edition in English of Italo Calvino's funny, whimsical and delightful stories, which blend scientific fact, flights of fancy, parody and wordplay to show the strangeness and the wonders of the world.

Italo Calvino (1923-1985), one of Italy's finest postwar writers, has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple, fable-like stories. Calvino was born in Cuba and raised in San Remo, Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. Among his other works published in Penguin Modern Classics are Italian Folktales, Hermit in Paris, Into the War, The Path to the Spiders' Nests, Numbers in the Dark, Six Memos for the Next Millennium and Why Read the Classics?

If you liked The Complete Cosmicomics, you might enjoy Jorge Luis Borges' Fictions, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

'The complete and definitive collection ... a masterpiece'
Gilbert Adair, Evening Standard

'Dazzling ... a book of revelation'
Tim Adams, Observer

'If you have never read Cosmicomics, you have before you the most joyful reading experience of your life'
Salman Rushdie

'A landmark in fiction, the work of a master'
Ursula K Le Guin, Guardian

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

From the Back Cover

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

Italo Calvino (1923 1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century s greatest storytellers. Born in Cuba, he was raised in San Remo, Italy, and later lived in Turin, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere. Among his many works are the novels If on a winter s night a traveler and The Baron in the Trees, as well as numerous collections of fiction, folktales, criticism, and essays. His work has been translated into dozens of languages.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0141189681
• ISBN 13: 9780141189680
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432