Italo Calvino

Together for the first time, a new translation of the revered, contemporary Italian author's short stories describing the beginning of the universe and other natural phenomena builds creative tales around well-known scientific facts.

The Complete Cosmicomics

taylor miles hopkins

When the moon was closer to the earth, he would - once a month, when its orbit made it possible - climb a ladder to its scaly surface. He remembers life on the nebulae when matter first began to exist, causing great confusion and destroying his grandmother's pillow. As a child, he used the curve of space to play marbles with brand-new atoms. With the rest of his family, he evolved to walk on land - only his great-uncle stubbornly remained a fish. And when the rest of the Dinosaurs died he was surprised to be greeted with gracious kindness instead of mortal fear by the new inhabitants of the Earth. This is the life of Qfwfq, the unique narrator of Italo Calvino's comic stories of the strangeness of the universe. They are extremely funny, imaginative beyond the scope of the galactic distances they conjure, beautifully written and absolutely unforgettable. This new collection is the first complete edition in English and includes seven stories never before translated.

i have no other way to describe this other than "the kind of book that kinda makes me feel stupid, but in a happy and satisfying way". some stories i understood and liked better than others (t zero i am your BIGGEST fan, i feel the need to physically kiss calvino on both cheeks for writing that masterpiece), but i think the true wonder emerging from this collection of short stories consists in the sheer creativity, nerdiness and the just right spoonful of whimsy needed to make it all work.

oh and once again, calvino proves himself a true wordsmith. his writing leaves you munching on those interesting sequences and combinations of words. i never knew how wonderful words could be. i feel like a chipmunk with a mouth stuffed with nice acorns whenever i read calvino, though occasionally he will fry my brain too.

i have no other way to describe this other than "the kind of book that kinda makes me feel stupid, but in a happy and satisfying way". some stories i understood and liked better than others (t zero i am your BIGGEST fan, i feel the need to physically kiss calvino on both cheeks for writing that masterpiece), but i think the true wonder emerging from this collection of short stories consists in the sheer creativity, nerdiness and the just right spoonful of whimsy needed to make it all work.

oh and once again, calvino proves himself a true wordsmith. his writing leaves you munching on those interesting sequences and combinations of words. i never knew how wonderful words could be. i feel like a chipmunk with a mouth stuffed with nice acorns whenever i read calvino, though occasionally he will fry my brain too.

Hannah Yang

Another whimsical Calvino collection that is a genre of its own: almost memoir-esque short stories built around 'science,' logic, math, and of course, themes like love and desire. Some of these tales admittedly fell flat for me, but many of them were so inventive, luminous, and memorable. I would love to live in Calvino's mind-universe for a little bit.

Favorites in the order that they appear:
1. The Distance of the Moon
2. A Sign in Space
3. The Aquatic Uncle
4. The Dinosaurs
5. The Light-Years
6. The Chase
7. The Night Driver
8. The Count of Monte Cristo
9. The Daughters of the Moon
10. As Long as the Sun Lasts
11. World Memory
12. Nothing and Not Much
13. Implosion

Really enjoyed a lot of the stories, had a hard time getting through others. I loved the reoccurring protagonist of Qfwfq as the foundation of each whimsical exploration of the universe. Qfwfq loves falling in love lol.

Part Three (t zero) was hard to get through. Two stories had similar concepts and I was really missing the story structure from the first half of the book (fortunately it came back!).

Overall glad I read it. I love writers who bridge science and creative writing. But it took some time to get through as it needed a bit of focus—enjoyed it more reading in the day than before bed (often fell asleep due to long-winded sentences).

Stories I’ll keep close to me:
The Origin of the Birds (really loved the story)
The Distance of the Moon
Without Colours
The Aquatic Uncle
The Dinosaurs
The Soft Moon
Blood, Sea (beautifully written)
Nothing and Not Much (should have been the final story in the collection)
Implosion 

'If you have never read Cosmicomics, you have before you the most joyful reading experience of your life' Salman Rushdie 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. 'The complete and definitive collection ...... a masterpiece' Gilbert Adair, Evening Standard 'Dazzling ...... a book of revelation' Tim Adams, Observer

Jade Flynn

This series of vignettes that draws heavily upon science, tackles subjects such as the creation and the evolution of the universe. It is quite outlandish but exemplary. If you do happen to enjoy science and to a lesser extent, mathematics, Calvino does a great job at scattering easter eggs throughout, such as the name of the main character "Qfwfq" which is an allusion to the first law of thermodynamics. There is no clear progress in the course of Qfwfq's fictional autobiography, sometimes a wise narrator and sometimes naive, (especially when it comes to love), we follow his various lives or one continuous one as he recounts his struggles to interpret the embryonic and evolving universe. Despite his many non-human manifestations, he succumbs to a very known human temptation: to understand the world around him. We follow a heavily anthropomorphised Qfwfq as a dinosaur, a mollusk, an amphibian and a cell who yearns for the pre-symbolic era. This enactment of postmoderism's paradoxical awareness and nostalgia is a delight. It does take brain power to read but for anyone interested in science presented in a radically different way, it is absolutely worth it. 

Cosmicomics - 5 stars 
More of Qfwfq - 4 stars
Priscilla - 5 stars
t zero - 2 stars 
World Memory and Other Cosmicomic Stories - 4 stars

ryan page

Roo Lampione

"This edition corresponds to Claudio Milanini's comprehensive edition of the cosmicomic tales, 'Tuttle le cosmicomiche,' published in 1997"--Page [xxxv

The Complete Cosmicomics

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