Cosmicomics
Italo Calvino
Finally, a collection of short stories that is entirely cohesive and where one can help boost understanding of the others. Not quite a collection of disparate stories and not quite a composite novel, Cosmicomics masters the short story and sets an impeccable gold standard for collections of short fiction. The stories of Cosmicomics are not only linked together by a common narrator or by recurring themes (such as lost love), but by unquantifiable characteristics that, taken together, provide a view of the macro- and microcosms of the universe unparalleled by science or, almost certainly, by any work of fiction. Calvino seeks not to define the universe, but to make scientific facts come alive in the adventures and lives of vividly defined existential beings. In doing so, he brilliantly weaves together the vast infinity of space and the minute emotional twinges we humans feel.
Taking on the entire universe and grappling with such concepts as galactic recession and the Big Bang is no small feat, but Calvino suceeds in every conceivable manner. His narrator, Qfwfq, is vividly imagined and consistent even though he exists outside of space and time. At different points he is human, dinosaur, interstellar being, and microscopic atom; though he changes within stories, he is always himself somehow. Instead of creating a cop-out character who could be anything the author needs at a given moment, Calvino works with the fabric of the universe and makes believable a constant in the broadest sense of the term. Qfwfq's consistent resemblance to humanity throughout (and perhaps despite) his many forms brings the universe down to our level and makes the scientific facts preceding each story come alive. We are reassured that humanity has fundamental characteristics that permeate the entirety of time, making our short stay on Earth relevant and part of the vast plan of the cosmos.
Cosmicomics is far from a haughty sermon on human relevance and the insignificance of individual lives. Calvino takes the largest of distances and times and humanizes them with unparalleled skill and literary dexterity. The stories in this book are all gripping and all achieve exactly what they mean to. Some are a bit stronger than others, but all are miles ahead of their time. While drawing inspiration from the cutting edge of science, Calvino manages some astonishing predictions and observations that cut right into the computer age. His imagination of a world of relativity, comprised entirely of signs and marks of one's existence, comes thirty years before the Internet and forty before Second Life, which is all but described in "A Sign in Space". Despite Calvino's use of the science of the Sixties, the book is fresh and modern even decades after its publication.
Calvino masters both scope and depth in Cosmicomics, taking on everything with a distinctly human perspective and making science relevant and within the grasp of any ordinary reader. I also imagine that these stories would be well-received in the scientific community, adding an interesting and often humorous perspective on the often dry annals of science. Cosmicomics takes the mind-boggling and brings it down to size without losing any of its grand expanse. The stories each imagine a distinctly human universe that is comforting and familiar, insisting that we are important and part of something much, much bigger than ourselves. Even more astounding is that this is managed without a hint of pride, but rather with only the phenomenal reach of Italo Calvino's vivid imagination.
Grade: A
Italo Calvino
Finally, a collection of short stories that is entirely cohesive and where one can help boost understanding of the others. Not quite a collection of disparate stories and not quite a composite novel, Cosmicomics masters the short story and sets an impeccable gold standard for collections of short fiction. The stories of Cosmicomics are not only linked together by a common narrator or by recurring themes (such as lost love), but by unquantifiable characteristics that, taken together, provide a view of the macro- and microcosms of the universe unparalleled by science or, almost certainly, by any work of fiction. Calvino seeks not to define the universe, but to make scientific facts come alive in the adventures and lives of vividly defined existential beings. In doing so, he brilliantly weaves together the vast infinity of space and the minute emotional twinges we humans feel.
Taking on the entire universe and grappling with such concepts as galactic recession and the Big Bang is no small feat, but Calvino suceeds in every conceivable manner. His narrator, Qfwfq, is vividly imagined and consistent even though he exists outside of space and time. At different points he is human, dinosaur, interstellar being, and microscopic atom; though he changes within stories, he is always himself somehow. Instead of creating a cop-out character who could be anything the author needs at a given moment, Calvino works with the fabric of the universe and makes believable a constant in the broadest sense of the term. Qfwfq's consistent resemblance to humanity throughout (and perhaps despite) his many forms brings the universe down to our level and makes the scientific facts preceding each story come alive. We are reassured that humanity has fundamental characteristics that permeate the entirety of time, making our short stay on Earth relevant and part of the vast plan of the cosmos.
Cosmicomics is far from a haughty sermon on human relevance and the insignificance of individual lives. Calvino takes the largest of distances and times and humanizes them with unparalleled skill and literary dexterity. The stories in this book are all gripping and all achieve exactly what they mean to. Some are a bit stronger than others, but all are miles ahead of their time. While drawing inspiration from the cutting edge of science, Calvino manages some astonishing predictions and observations that cut right into the computer age. His imagination of a world of relativity, comprised entirely of signs and marks of one's existence, comes thirty years before the Internet and forty before Second Life, which is all but described in "A Sign in Space". Despite Calvino's use of the science of the Sixties, the book is fresh and modern even decades after its publication.
Calvino masters both scope and depth in Cosmicomics, taking on everything with a distinctly human perspective and making science relevant and within the grasp of any ordinary reader. I also imagine that these stories would be well-received in the scientific community, adding an interesting and often humorous perspective on the often dry annals of science. Cosmicomics takes the mind-boggling and brings it down to size without losing any of its grand expanse. The stories each imagine a distinctly human universe that is comforting and familiar, insisting that we are important and part of something much, much bigger than ourselves. Even more astounding is that this is managed without a hint of pride, but rather with only the phenomenal reach of Italo Calvino's vivid imagination.
Grade: A
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