- The culturality (to use a new-ish and very iffy word) of Euphemia and its crossroads and the merchants who visit and trade there make me wonder how you see the legitimacy of Calvino's prose. Does his stuff feel like he really understands the Old World dessert, trade, Spice Road, and Mongol elements he's professing to tell us about, or does it all feel like so much contrivance, or is this a non-issue for whatever reason?
- I wonder why campfires are such natural centerpieces for storytelling (not that it would take much to lay such reason out and make sense of it, but it is a magical thing).
- Something about the trade routes, the city at the crossroads, the storytelling and, in my mind, its natural "one-up-manship" remind me of Kim (a book that seems to get better the further away you are from the time you actually forced yourself to sit and read it--you know, as the concept of it takes over the terrible writing of it). Thoughts?
1. I actually think the feel of this book really is authentic, but then again, I've never actually been on an Old World desert road. This chapter reminded me quite a bit of "Canterbury Tales."
ReplyDelete2. Agreed. Possibly because there's nothing else to do except talk?
3. Yeah, I didn't think of that, but it does have a feel of "Kim" about it for sure. And, while I would never read "Kim" again, you may be right about it slightly improving its image now that it's in concept. The book that has done this most for me is probably "Ulysses," which was a real labor to read, but I have to admit, did some really cool things.
Btw, this would probably be a good time to tell you that, unfortunately for our timing, I'm going to be gone on vacation the next couple weeks, including lots of camping w/o Internet access, so I would expect less frequent posting, esp. starting Sunday. But I'll try to keep up on "Invisible Cities."
Ah, a vacation from your vacation, eh? Funny, my mom always used to complain toward the end of a family vacation that she needed a vacation from the vacation. :) I hope you enjoy the trip. I'm excited to be back on the blog.
ReplyDeleteHaha yes, exactly. And it's good to have you back! The Internet has doubled in interest.
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