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The Distance of the Moon
'Time is a catastrophe, perpetual and irreversible.'
Science and fiction interweave delightfully in these playful Cosmicomic short stories.
Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.
Science and fiction interweave delightfully in these playful Cosmicomic short stories.
Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
About the author
Italo Calvino
569 books9,366 followersItalo 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 easy to classify; much of his writing has an air reminiscent to that of fantastical 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 fables, others simply "modern". He wrote: "My working method has more often than not involved the subtraction of weight. I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language."
His style is not easy to classify; much of his writing has an air reminiscent to that of fantastical 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 fables, others simply "modern". He wrote: "My working method has more often than not involved the subtraction of weight. I have tried to remove weight, sometimes from people, sometimes from heavenly bodies, sometimes from cities; above all I have tried to remove weight from the structure of stories and from language."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 373 reviews
December 29, 2022
The title story was whimsical and intriguing but the other stories went right over my head.
December 18, 2020
180th book of 2020.
Several stories taken from Calvino's Cosmicomics: "The Distance of the Moon", "Without Colours", "As Long as the Sun Lasts" and "Implosion". The latter stories fall a little short of the title story, which is by far the most realised of the book. They are whimsical, light and humorous, on the most part. Most of all, they display Calvino's boundless imagination.
The title story imagines a world where the moon was once much closer, and the inhabitants of the earth (and indeed the story) could jump or climb on a ladder to reach it as it hovers above them. Once on the moon (and looking back at the boats upside down on the sea of the earth now above them) they could harvest moon-milk, which Calvino likens to cream cheese. Events turn, and the characters' lives are implemented into the bizarre world. There are a number of pictures made on the Internet about this story, one of them below.
The other stories are interesting and imaginative but hardly as compelling as the first. The final story, "Implosion", isn't a story at all. I'm yet to get my hands on a copy of the Cosmicomics. I believe we all have those books that keep eluding us, despite us wanting to read them. This is one of them.
Several stories taken from Calvino's Cosmicomics: "The Distance of the Moon", "Without Colours", "As Long as the Sun Lasts" and "Implosion". The latter stories fall a little short of the title story, which is by far the most realised of the book. They are whimsical, light and humorous, on the most part. Most of all, they display Calvino's boundless imagination.
The title story imagines a world where the moon was once much closer, and the inhabitants of the earth (and indeed the story) could jump or climb on a ladder to reach it as it hovers above them. Once on the moon (and looking back at the boats upside down on the sea of the earth now above them) they could harvest moon-milk, which Calvino likens to cream cheese. Events turn, and the characters' lives are implemented into the bizarre world. There are a number of pictures made on the Internet about this story, one of them below.
The other stories are interesting and imaginative but hardly as compelling as the first. The final story, "Implosion", isn't a story at all. I'm yet to get my hands on a copy of the Cosmicomics. I believe we all have those books that keep eluding us, despite us wanting to read them. This is one of them.
November 23, 2025
A quirky quick read novella in three parts. At the beginning it reads like a fable handed down by First Nations people through the generations. A telling of why the moon is how it is today.
The next two parts flow off on tangents, the moon still central to the plot, although, it does take on a science fiction turn.
A fun read, nothing too serious.
The next two parts flow off on tangents, the moon still central to the plot, although, it does take on a science fiction turn.
A fun read, nothing too serious.
December 6, 2019
I really enjoyed these. They were a bit weird, but in a very enjoyable way.
September 19, 2021
The best way to start a Sunday morning after a long week, curled up with a cup of tea, exploring dreamy fables to read to my grandson Thorin. As the boats reach the moon, and the sea becomes an inverted silver sky, Ólafur Arnalds 'Happiness does not wait' found its turn on my YTmusic playlist and Italo's floating lunar ballet came to life, on a short, strange and beautiful tide.
October 7, 2025
Calvino Cosmicomics Sampler
A review of the Penguin Modern paperback (February 22, 2018) with translations by William Weaver (1 & 2), Martin McLaughlin (3) and Tim Parks (4) selected from Cosmicomics (1 & 2 - 1968), World Memory and Other Cosmicomics Stories (3 - 1968) and The Complete Cosmicomics (4 - 2009).
Italo Calvino's (1923-1985) specialized sub-genre of fantasy called the Cosmicomics are 34 short stories originally collected in several Italian language books primarily from 1965 to 1968. They all feature an immortal entity with the unpronounceable name of Qfwfq who relates his various experiences in the universe but often centres on our Moon, our Earth and our Sun. The stories are of a playful nature and this sampler collection of 4 of them covers the range of cosmic bodies very well.
As with all of these Penguin Modern collections there is no Introduction or Afterword, so some research is required to understand the context. So this is a reserved 4 rating with that in mind. But even standing on their own, these stories do have their own charm.
The front covers of the original Italian and English language editions of Cosmicomics (1965). Images sourced from Goodreads. Cover art M.C. Escher's Another World II (1947).
1. The Distance of the Moon **** Originally published in Italian in Le cosmicomiche (1965). Qfwfq tells the story of how the Moon was once so close to the Earth that you could climb up to it via a ladder. A love triangle ensues and Qfwfq loses his unrequited love when the Moon draws away from the Earth.
2. Without Colours **** Originally published as above (1965). Qfwfq is there at the time when the grey matter of the Earth begins to change into the colours of the land and the sea. He finds a play companion named Ayl and they romp around the Earth's surface as the planet evolves.
3. As Long as the Sun Lasts **** Originally published in Italian in La memoria del mondo e altre storie cosmicomiche (1968). We learn Qfwfq's family history and how his grandfather Colonel Eggg brought the family to Earth because he had determined that our Sun would have an ideal lifespan for them to live in retirement from their cosmic adventures.
4. Implosion **** Originally published in Italian in La Repubblica (1984). Qfwfq narrates how stars die and implode.
Trivia and Links
I remembered an anecdote about Italo Calvino and the story of why he was born in Cuba. I came across it while reviewing Leonid Andreyev's The Seven Who Were Hanged (1908). The character Werner in The Seven... was based on the real-life Vsevolod Lebedintsev who was arrested under the name of Mario Calvino as he had re-entered Russia with identity papers borrowed from that Italian socialist. Fearing prosecution after Lebedintsev's execution, Calvino emigrated to the Americas where his son Italo Calvino was born in Cuba in 1923. The family later returned to Italy.
There was a 7 minute short animated film La Luna (2011) dir. Enrico Casarosa which was inspired by the "ladder to the moon" plot of Calvino's The Distance of the Moon although it is about a little boy's adventure rather than about the romantic triangle of the original story. You can see the entire film on YouTube here.
Italo Calvino's The Distance of the Moon is part of a 50-volume Penguin Modern (May 30, 2019) boxset issued by Penguin Books. The promo description reads:
The box set is a limited edition which may gradually become rarer to source. The books are available individually, but will also likely become rare items.
WARNING Amazon.ca and Amazon.com are showing only a nominal fee ($1.99 Cdn, $2.53 US) for a supposed Kindle edition of the 50-volume boxset. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM, THE KINDLE ITEM IS A LIST OF TITLES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONTAIN THE ACTUAL COMPLETE BOOKS.
You can read the list of titles for free at the Penguin Modern link above.
A review of the Penguin Modern paperback (February 22, 2018) with translations by William Weaver (1 & 2), Martin McLaughlin (3) and Tim Parks (4) selected from Cosmicomics (1 & 2 - 1968), World Memory and Other Cosmicomics Stories (3 - 1968) and The Complete Cosmicomics (4 - 2009).
Italo Calvino's (1923-1985) specialized sub-genre of fantasy called the Cosmicomics are 34 short stories originally collected in several Italian language books primarily from 1965 to 1968. They all feature an immortal entity with the unpronounceable name of Qfwfq who relates his various experiences in the universe but often centres on our Moon, our Earth and our Sun. The stories are of a playful nature and this sampler collection of 4 of them covers the range of cosmic bodies very well.
As with all of these Penguin Modern collections there is no Introduction or Afterword, so some research is required to understand the context. So this is a reserved 4 rating with that in mind. But even standing on their own, these stories do have their own charm.
The front covers of the original Italian and English language editions of Cosmicomics (1965). Images sourced from Goodreads. Cover art M.C. Escher's Another World II (1947).
1. The Distance of the Moon **** Originally published in Italian in Le cosmicomiche (1965). Qfwfq tells the story of how the Moon was once so close to the Earth that you could climb up to it via a ladder. A love triangle ensues and Qfwfq loses his unrequited love when the Moon draws away from the Earth.
I still look for her as soon as the first sliver appears in the sky, and the more it waxes, the more clearly I imagine I can see her, her or something of her, but only her, in a hundred, a thousand different vistas, she who makes the Moon the Moon and, whenever she is full, sets the dogs to howling all night long, and me with them.
2. Without Colours **** Originally published as above (1965). Qfwfq is there at the time when the grey matter of the Earth begins to change into the colours of the land and the sea. He finds a play companion named Ayl and they romp around the Earth's surface as the planet evolves.
3. As Long as the Sun Lasts **** Originally published in Italian in La memoria del mondo e altre storie cosmicomiche (1968). We learn Qfwfq's family history and how his grandfather Colonel Eggg brought the family to Earth because he had determined that our Sun would have an ideal lifespan for them to live in retirement from their cosmic adventures.
4. Implosion **** Originally published in Italian in La Repubblica (1984). Qfwfq narrates how stars die and implode.
At the limit of their decrepitude, shrunk to the size of Red Dwarfs or White Dwarfs, panting out the last glimmering gasp of the pulsar, compressed into neutron stars, here they are at last, light lost to the waste of the firmament, no more than the dark deletion of themselves, ready for the unstoppable collapse when everything, even light itself, falls inwards never to emerge again.
Trivia and Links
I remembered an anecdote about Italo Calvino and the story of why he was born in Cuba. I came across it while reviewing Leonid Andreyev's The Seven Who Were Hanged (1908). The character Werner in The Seven... was based on the real-life Vsevolod Lebedintsev who was arrested under the name of Mario Calvino as he had re-entered Russia with identity papers borrowed from that Italian socialist. Fearing prosecution after Lebedintsev's execution, Calvino emigrated to the Americas where his son Italo Calvino was born in Cuba in 1923. The family later returned to Italy.
There was a 7 minute short animated film La Luna (2011) dir. Enrico Casarosa which was inspired by the "ladder to the moon" plot of Calvino's The Distance of the Moon although it is about a little boy's adventure rather than about the romantic triangle of the original story. You can see the entire film on YouTube here.
Italo Calvino's The Distance of the Moon is part of a 50-volume Penguin Modern (May 30, 2019) boxset issued by Penguin Books. The promo description reads:
This box set of the 50 books in the new Penguin Modern series celebrates the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics list and its iconic authors. Including avant-garde essays, radical polemics, newly translated poetry and great fiction, here are brilliant and diverse voices from across the globe. Ground-breaking and original in their day, their words still have the power to move, challenge and inspire.
The box set is a limited edition which may gradually become rarer to source. The books are available individually, but will also likely become rare items.
WARNING Amazon.ca and Amazon.com are showing only a nominal fee ($1.99 Cdn, $2.53 US) for a supposed Kindle edition of the 50-volume boxset. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM, THE KINDLE ITEM IS A LIST OF TITLES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONTAIN THE ACTUAL COMPLETE BOOKS.
You can read the list of titles for free at the Penguin Modern link above.
September 17, 2016
wow - just wow!
here
.
here
.
February 13, 2019
Proof that science is beautiful and I'm not just a mega nerd
August 15, 2019
FIVE STARS. I CAN'T ORGANIZE MY FEELINGS RIGHT NOW BUT THAT LAST ESSAY, IMPLOSION!!! i'm forever changed o____o
August 23, 2018
I have not really been a fan of what I have read of Italo Calvino's work thus far, but went into this collection of 'exuberant, endlessly inventive stories' with an open mind nonetheless. The tales collected here - 'The Distance of the Moon', 'Without Colours', 'As Long As the Sun Lasts', and 'Implosion' - were published between 1965 and 2009, and have been variously translated by Martin McLaughlin, Tim Parks, and William Weaver. I found Calvino's work interesting enough, particularly with regard to the metaphors which he uses. There is some really imaginative imagery to be found here too. Overall, however, I found this collection - which hovers between the classifications of science fiction and fantasy - peculiar, and not to my taste. It is nothing which I would have chosen to read had it not been included in the Penguin Moderns Collection.
April 18, 2020
Η πρώτη (μικρή) επαφή με το έργο του Καλβίνο με άφησε με ανάμεικτα συναισθήματα και αυτό κυρίως οφείλεται πως απο τις 4 ιστορίες, κατάλαβα τις 2. Παρμένες απο διάφορες συλλογές, οι 4 αυτές ιστορίες έχουν ένα επίκεντρο, το σύμπαν. Ήθελε ο Καλβίνο να μας πει για την άρρηκτη σχέση του ανθρώπου με το σύμπαν, τα αστέρια, τον ήλιο, τη νύχτα που έχει φεγγάρι και τα σχετικά; Ήθελε να μας πει πως εν τέλει η ζωή μας περιστρέφεται γύρω απο τις γυναίκες; Τι ήθελες να μας πεις ρε Καλβίνο; Μίλα που να με πάρει ο διάολος!
Ο ορισμός του 'ξεδιπλώνω συμπαντικές αλήθειες'.
Θα μας τα πεις στον 'Ταξιδιώτη' που με περιμένει σπίτι.
Ο ορισμός του 'ξεδιπλώνω συμπαντικές αλήθειες'.
Θα μας τα πεις στον 'Ταξιδιώτη' που με περιμένει σπίτι.
Read
June 6, 2020Δείτε την κριτική στα Ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες
So after the bitter disappointment with Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
this Jägermeister shot of a book was Calvino's atonement, and mine as a reader.
I'm not a fan of these tiny books. They feel like those 30-days free trials. You only get a small taste of the whole work/service.
This less than 60 pages book contains four short stories. 2 of which I liked and 2 of which I found just okay.
These four short stories are part of a larger collection called The Complete Cosmicomics with 34 short stories in total.
A combination of science fiction, magical realism, and fantasy.
Stories about the birth of galaxies the extinction of dinosaurs, the creation of our solar system, geological cataclysms and more.
So as a fan of the science theme in literature I want to buy the whole collection now, because as I was saying, with these tiny books you only experience the foreplay and not the whole act, that's the reason I'm not buying them, and that's the reason to look for the complete collection of the Cosmicomics, giving Calvino's one more chance to show me his talent in the craft.
March 31, 2020
Fantastic essays from the 1960s. Cosmological concepts play out in surreal situations, like having the Moon so close a ladder is enough to climb up. But the surreal is still kept within the strict laws of physics, so climbing to the Moon means making sure that the climber does not get stuck in the space between the Earth and the Moon.
The essays are also love stories, nuanced, full of beautiful allegories. Transformation of the Earth from gray and featureless to full of colours transforms the relationship, the conjugal bickering is on a cosmic scale, and the disappearing Moon takes aways the broken heart. Beautiful.
"To explode or to implode - said Qfwfq - that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to expand one's energies in space without restraint, or to crush them into a dense inner concentration and, but ingesting, cherish them."
The essays are also love stories, nuanced, full of beautiful allegories. Transformation of the Earth from gray and featureless to full of colours transforms the relationship, the conjugal bickering is on a cosmic scale, and the disappearing Moon takes aways the broken heart. Beautiful.
"To explode or to implode - said Qfwfq - that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to expand one's energies in space without restraint, or to crush them into a dense inner concentration and, but ingesting, cherish them."
October 15, 2017
ჩემ ერთ-ერთი ყველაზე საყვარელ პატარა მოთხრობად იქცა. კალვინო საოცარი ადამიანია. მოურიდებლად დაძრწის სამყაროში,სადაც მთვარე ყველისგან და რძისგან არის შექმნილი. ( მეც მინდა მანდ :( )
ემოციური და შემაძრწუნებელი ისტორიაა,არამგონია ვინმე გულგრილი დატოვოს.
დარწმუნებული ვარ,კიდევ ბევრი კარგი ამბავი მელის იტალოსთან <3
I still look for her as soon as the first sliver appears in the sky, and the more it waxes, the more clearly I imagine I can see her, her or something of her, but only her, in a hundred, a thousand different vistas, she who makes the Moon, the Moon and, whenever she is full, sets the dogs to howling all night long, and me with them.
And then it was all clear to me:
How Mrs. Vhd Vhd was becoming jealous of the moon,
and how i was jealous of my cousin.
ემოციური და შემაძრწუნებელი ისტორიაა,არამგონია ვინმე გულგრილი დატოვოს.
დარწმუნებული ვარ,კიდევ ბევრი კარგი ამბავი მელის იტალოსთან <3
I still look for her as soon as the first sliver appears in the sky, and the more it waxes, the more clearly I imagine I can see her, her or something of her, but only her, in a hundred, a thousand different vistas, she who makes the Moon, the Moon and, whenever she is full, sets the dogs to howling all night long, and me with them.
And then it was all clear to me:
How Mrs. Vhd Vhd was becoming jealous of the moon,
and how i was jealous of my cousin.
June 29, 2020
A whimsical cosmic sci-fiction narrative that begins in time when the moon was very close to the Earth's surface. A group of denizens and their moon journey, few incidents and love story happened, uniquely absurd and imaginative. At a point it was cute (the names were too memorable and I really like the characters) but somehow I realized how it was too peculiar for me. I appreciate the idea of galaxies and that pinch of fantasy, metaphorically mischievous but still a bit boring to me. As much as I love Calvino's style of writing, could only go up to 3 stars for this.
June 11, 2017
A short story that took me back to my childhood. A ladder to the moon, true love, harp and what-not. This could have been a folk tale from Rajasthan.
April 10, 2026
the writing in this was so beautiful. very short story but so much to read. kinda gave me an existential crisis though.
March 28, 2018
whimsical and cute, each short story had its own appeal; i actually really want to read more. the one problem is that i can't say i felt all that much towards the characters.
edit: it's been a few days and with each day that passed i ended up giving this collection another star, from 3 to 5. i keep thinking about it, and i've come to the conclusion that these stories, being so short, aren't necessarily about the characters, but rather something more.
edit: it's been a few days and with each day that passed i ended up giving this collection another star, from 3 to 5. i keep thinking about it, and i've come to the conclusion that these stories, being so short, aren't necessarily about the characters, but rather something more.
August 25, 2021
There are a lot of words here put together into sentences that sound beautiful, but none of it means anything. I enjoyed the imagery and almost gave it a three star because of it but I just put this book down about sixty seconds ago and I'm already struggling to have any further thoughts on it at all. Definitely not to my taste and not something I would ever typically read, especially not in a longer form than these short stories.
January 5, 2025
I loved how Italo Calvino mixes science and storytelling in The Distance of the Moon. You can tell he really did his research—he sticks to the science but still lets his imagination run wild. The way he creates these unique, magical stories while staying grounded in real science is just amazing.
The story The Distance of the Moon really stood out to me. It’s so creative, and on top of that, there’s so much meaning packed into it. It brought to me a new world of imagination.
After reading this, I’m definitely adding more of Calvino’s books to my list.
The story The Distance of the Moon really stood out to me. It’s so creative, and on top of that, there’s so much meaning packed into it. It brought to me a new world of imagination.
After reading this, I’m definitely adding more of Calvino’s books to my list.
June 27, 2026
5/5 ⭐️
1. The Distance of the Moon: 3/5 ⭐️
2. Without Colours: 4/5 ⭐️
3. As Long as The Sun Lasts: 2/5 ⭐️
4. Implosion: 10000/5 ⭐️
Este pequeno livrinho de 56 páginas é a compilação de 4 short stories originalmente presentes em "The Complete Cosmicomics", que ronda as 400 páginas. Eu diria que, ao contrário das 3 primeiras, a última "Implosion" se aproxima mais a um mini ensaio do que uma história.
No geral, gostei muito do que li e fiquei super curiosa com as outras obras de Italo Calvino. Não consigo ultrapassar o facto deste homem ter acordado um dia e ter pensado: "E se eu romantizasse o Cosmos? A criação do universo? Todos os gases, partículas, moléculas, reações químicas, que tiveram que acontecer para chegarmos onde estamos? E não só o fez tão bem, como, ao contrário da maioria dos livros de ficção científica, o fez de uma forma tão gentil, tão sensível e ternurenta....
A short story que gostei menos foi a 3ª As Long as The Sun Lasts que foi um pouco seca. Depois a The Distance of the Moon que teve um conceito muito interessante, mas no geral, não mexeu muito comigo. A minha segunda preferida foi a Without Colours que retrata o planeta Terra antes de possuir atmosfera e, por isso, não existiam cores, o que para mim me tocou bastante, uma vez que sou daltónica. Por último, a minha preferida de todas, aquela que na minha opinião têm que ler desta coleção, foi a Implosion .... fartei-me de sublinhar e escrever notas nas margens... este texto vai para sempre ficar comigo, mesmo que tivesse odiado todas as outras, teria valido a pena por esta....
Recomendo vivamente a todos, principalmente aqueles que adoram pensar no Universo, no Espaço e no Tempo e em tudo aquilo que não compreendemos assim tão bem, mas que se não tivesse acontecido, a nossa existência não seria possível. Ou será que seria?
”To explode or to implode (…) that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to expand one's energies in space without restraint, or to crush them into a dense inner concentration and, by ingesting, cherish them.” — Implosion
1. The Distance of the Moon: 3/5 ⭐️
2. Without Colours: 4/5 ⭐️
3. As Long as The Sun Lasts: 2/5 ⭐️
4. Implosion: 10000/5 ⭐️
Este pequeno livrinho de 56 páginas é a compilação de 4 short stories originalmente presentes em "The Complete Cosmicomics", que ronda as 400 páginas. Eu diria que, ao contrário das 3 primeiras, a última "Implosion" se aproxima mais a um mini ensaio do que uma história.
You explode, if that's more to your taste, shoot yourselves all around in endless darts, be prodigal, spendthrift, reckless: - I shall implode, collapse inside the abyss of myself, towards my buried centre, infinitely. — Implosion
No geral, gostei muito do que li e fiquei super curiosa com as outras obras de Italo Calvino. Não consigo ultrapassar o facto deste homem ter acordado um dia e ter pensado: "E se eu romantizasse o Cosmos? A criação do universo? Todos os gases, partículas, moléculas, reações químicas, que tiveram que acontecer para chegarmos onde estamos? E não só o fez tão bem, como, ao contrário da maioria dos livros de ficção científica, o fez de uma forma tão gentil, tão sensível e ternurenta....
Praise be to the stars that implode. A new freedom opens up within them: annulled from space, exonerated from time, existing, at last, for themselves alone and no longer in relation to all the rest, perhaps only they can be sure they really exist. 'Black holes' is a derogatory nickname, dictated by envy: they are quite the opposite of holes, nothing could be fuller and heavier and denser and more compact, with a stubbornness to the way they sustain the gravity they bear within, as if clenching their fists, gritting their teeth, hunching their backs. Only on these terms can one save oneself from dissolving in overreaching extension, (...) Only in this way can one break through to a space-time where the implicit and the unexpressed don't lose their energy (…). — Implosion
A short story que gostei menos foi a 3ª As Long as The Sun Lasts que foi um pouco seca. Depois a The Distance of the Moon que teve um conceito muito interessante, mas no geral, não mexeu muito comigo. A minha segunda preferida foi a Without Colours que retrata o planeta Terra antes de possuir atmosfera e, por isso, não existiam cores, o que para mim me tocou bastante, uma vez que sou daltónica. Por último, a minha preferida de todas, aquela que na minha opinião têm que ler desta coleção, foi a Implosion .... fartei-me de sublinhar e escrever notas nas margens... este texto vai para sempre ficar comigo, mesmo que tivesse odiado todas as outras, teria valido a pena por esta....
'Qfwfq, save yourself!" cries Qfwfq, but is it the imploding Qfwfq who wants to save the exploding Qfwfq or vice versa? No Qfwfq can save any exploding Qfwfq from the conflagration, as they in turn can't pull back the other Qfwfq from their unstoppable implosion. Any way time runs it leads to disaster whether in one direction or its opposite (…).— Implosion
Recomendo vivamente a todos, principalmente aqueles que adoram pensar no Universo, no Espaço e no Tempo e em tudo aquilo que não compreendemos assim tão bem, mas que se não tivesse acontecido, a nossa existência não seria possível. Ou será que seria?
April 14, 2022
I started this book at a very difficult time. I was sitting on a plane to London, crying from certain family issues but most of all because of how time and ageing have these powers over us, to change us. And so the grandmother forgets things she used to tell her grandchildren everyday…or she puts up pictures of her children simply to remember their faces when they no longer visit. Death is brutal, and the slow dying death of old age makes those who are young appreciate their youth but also fear this ageing process. And suddenly I felt surrounded by death.
And this little snippet of Calvino’s writings were the perfect escape from these feelings. Time is so completely different in ‘as long as the sun lasts’ the characters have billions of millennia and still this feels short - there will never be enough time, there will never be enough new experiences or variety or life or different types love to feel. We grow accustomed to the time we have, to our life expectancies - so we create a border for ourselves, in order to shape our lives according to how many years we think we will live. If I knew I was going to be leaving this earth in a week, I wouldn’t bother going to school for that last week. And so nothing so invasively pervades our lives like time, and the spending of it, and here Calvino does a wonderful job of spinning time and the laws of physics on his hands like the spinning of plates as if he were a fanciful magician or a waiter with octopus arms.
“He didn’t proceed in any orderly way, but went to isolated places, jumping from one to another, as if he were playing tricks on the Moon, surprising her, or perhaps tickling her…there were places, for example, that he touched merely for the fun of touching them: gaps between two scales, naked and tender folds of lunar flesh.” - Calvino’s descriptions of the moon are immensely personal, inventive and playful.
And yet in such an other worldly landscape, Calvino stills embraces human emotion and feeling - “she had finally realised that he only loved the Moon, and the only thing she wanted now was to become the Moon, to be assimilated into the object of that extrahuman love.”
The naming of the characters is also something special! A random mix of consonants.
Nothing sums this up better than this last quote, “Time is a catastrophe, perpetual and irreversible.”
And this little snippet of Calvino’s writings were the perfect escape from these feelings. Time is so completely different in ‘as long as the sun lasts’ the characters have billions of millennia and still this feels short - there will never be enough time, there will never be enough new experiences or variety or life or different types love to feel. We grow accustomed to the time we have, to our life expectancies - so we create a border for ourselves, in order to shape our lives according to how many years we think we will live. If I knew I was going to be leaving this earth in a week, I wouldn’t bother going to school for that last week. And so nothing so invasively pervades our lives like time, and the spending of it, and here Calvino does a wonderful job of spinning time and the laws of physics on his hands like the spinning of plates as if he were a fanciful magician or a waiter with octopus arms.
“He didn’t proceed in any orderly way, but went to isolated places, jumping from one to another, as if he were playing tricks on the Moon, surprising her, or perhaps tickling her…there were places, for example, that he touched merely for the fun of touching them: gaps between two scales, naked and tender folds of lunar flesh.” - Calvino’s descriptions of the moon are immensely personal, inventive and playful.
And yet in such an other worldly landscape, Calvino stills embraces human emotion and feeling - “she had finally realised that he only loved the Moon, and the only thing she wanted now was to become the Moon, to be assimilated into the object of that extrahuman love.”
The naming of the characters is also something special! A random mix of consonants.
Nothing sums this up better than this last quote, “Time is a catastrophe, perpetual and irreversible.”
October 27, 2018
There is a book from my childhood: green hard cover Italian tales. The title is "Three Oranges". The ilustration on the cover is so beautiful. This one is my favourite. I was arranging my books the other day when I found it and couldn't hold myself back to read it. Some tales I remembered. Some I didn't. There was no author, just the name of translators, who translated the book from Russian. No source, nothing. So I googled about 30 minutes (not kidding) before I found that these tales from my childhood were edited by Calvino. I didn't know him before that. So, obviously I was intrigued.
These stories were kind of disappointing. I wanted the anticipation of my childhood. Ok the topic was interesting: the history of the universe along with science fiction. But the plot was so boring I was skipping through the whole book. Please, someone tell me he has some good writing to read.
These stories were kind of disappointing. I wanted the anticipation of my childhood. Ok the topic was interesting: the history of the universe along with science fiction. But the plot was so boring I was skipping through the whole book. Please, someone tell me he has some good writing to read.
April 29, 2018
Italy Calvino’s imagination is fantastic in these stories, really curious to read more of him (and I happen to have The Complete Cosmicomics waiting for me on my shelves). However, sometimes I found it hard to stay focused; hopefully I will become more invested once I read a bunch of his stories.
June 15, 2023
Out of the four stories, only the first two stories were intriguing. The latter two went downhill (the last one was so confusing). The stories were based on cosmic ideas which were unlike anything I’ve read before, but it just didn’t do it for me.
May 22, 2023
The title story was so much fun to read. Describes a time where the moon was so close to earth that people could climb and jump and summersault off of it. The writing and idea was whimsical and witty and so so original. The masterful personification of the moon, the intricate comparisons of love and lust and obsession - the perfect balance was struck between bizarreness and science. A love triangle with the moon itself!! Calvino always manages to subtly comment on aspects such as love or loss without it taking over the story. A genius piece of work which embodies everything a short story should be!
As long as the sun lasts.
Time is completely and utterly distorted in this short story, and like the distance of the moon, was an incredibly fun read. The eternal beings were personified wonderfully, and the various galactic descriptions and the science was all so enjoyable.
I sound like a broken record but even within the span of the short few pages, Calvino somehow managed to interweave lessons on human nature, and how regardless of the time we are given we would always, undoubtedly revert to the same nature of wishing and yearning and loving.
Implosion
“I shall implode, collapse inside the abyss of myself, toward my buried centre, infinitely.”
More like an essay exploring the inevitability of time. Likens individual humans to galaxies and black holes and the inevitable collapse of stars.
“Praise be to stars that implode. A new freedom opens up within them: annulled from space, exonerated from time, existing, at last, for themselves alone and no longer in relation to all the rest” And then proceeds to question this and explore the possibility (and fear) of implosion only creating the illusion of escaping time. SO GOOD!
‘Without colours’ went over my head and although the concept was nice, felt that the execution fell flat.
As long as the sun lasts.
Time is completely and utterly distorted in this short story, and like the distance of the moon, was an incredibly fun read. The eternal beings were personified wonderfully, and the various galactic descriptions and the science was all so enjoyable.
I sound like a broken record but even within the span of the short few pages, Calvino somehow managed to interweave lessons on human nature, and how regardless of the time we are given we would always, undoubtedly revert to the same nature of wishing and yearning and loving.
Implosion
“I shall implode, collapse inside the abyss of myself, toward my buried centre, infinitely.”
More like an essay exploring the inevitability of time. Likens individual humans to galaxies and black holes and the inevitable collapse of stars.
“Praise be to stars that implode. A new freedom opens up within them: annulled from space, exonerated from time, existing, at last, for themselves alone and no longer in relation to all the rest” And then proceeds to question this and explore the possibility (and fear) of implosion only creating the illusion of escaping time. SO GOOD!
‘Without colours’ went over my head and although the concept was nice, felt that the execution fell flat.
May 22, 2025
I read Cosmicomics quite a few years ago and only vaguely remembered the stories—just that I really liked them. So this little Penguin Mini was the perfect excuse to revisit Calvino through the lens of my 10-years-older self. I didn’t remember the stories in detail, but somehow the tone, the atmosphere, felt like something I already knew. I was thinking maybe my more objective self would go with 4 stars, but then I reached the last story, Implosion, and it reminded me why Calvino hits different. So here we go, very subjectively, 5 stars.
June 19, 2023
Four mesmerising short stories exploring the cosmos. The second story, “Without Colours” was my favourite - it follows the first beings who experience colour on earth. Very magical, very weird - I loved it
August 26, 2023
4 stars, because these shortstories deserve it. I didn’t ask why I was reading it at the time I was reading it. There were quotes from other authors in the beginning which gave a sense of science involvement. I’m happy that even a classic short story can still tell a story.
🤍 loved it.
🤍 loved it.
April 16, 2025
best book of the modern classics set yet
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