An exceptional Folio edition celebrating more than 700 years of Dante’s monumental work, The Divine Comedy is illustrated by Neil Packer and includes an exclusive essay by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Invisible Cities
Illustrated by Dave McKean
Introduced by Jeanette Winterson
Translated by William Weaver
Italo Calvino’s beguiling and mysterious Invisible Cities defies explanation. Dave McKean’s rich visuals illustrate the wondrous and impossible urban landscapes in a Folio edition that is introduced by Jeanette Winterson.
US$95.00
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‘Instead of pretending to talk about real life, Calvino went wildly into the life of the imagination. He discovered that he did not need to write directly about the world he lived in in order to mirror it.’
- Jeanette Winterson
In Invisible Cities, Calvino mirrors reality in fantastical prose through imagined conversations between the explorer Marco Polo and Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan. He conjures imaginary places gradually revealed to be the different quarters of ancient and modern Venice. Dave McKean was an immediate choice to capture the rich visuals of Calvino’s landscapes and abstract concepts in ten intricate colour illustrations, plus 27 integrated illustrations. Stunning cover visuals evoke labyrinthine fantastical cities unspooling from the minds of the narrators.
Gorgeous, printed marbled endpapers give the feel of a prized find in an ancient market. This unique and wonderful oddity weaves together prose, poetry and philosophy, provoking questions about the complex nature of writing’s limitations alongside the impossible and beguiling spaces the novel’s characters inhabit. Jeanette Winterson’s insightful introduction encourages the reader to explore those questions further, giving us a valuable glimpse into Calvino’s world, writing process and evolution. Calvino’s words were just waiting for their perfect match and found them in this stunning Folio edition.
Quarter-bound in textured paper with paper case sides
Gold and blind blocking on spine
Gold rules on quarter binding
Set in LTC Italian Old Style
184 pages with 10 full-page colour illustrations and 27 integrated illustrations
Printed 4-colour throughout
Printed endpapers
Slipcase covered in textured paper blocked with gold foil
8˝ x 5¼˝
‘Every micro-story stands alone as a strange and troubling miniature world. Read together, these stories become both atlas and encounter.’
- Jeanette Winterson
Italo Calvino was one of Italy's most celebrated writers and a vital figure in postmodern literature. He wove complex structures with his prose, inviting readers to engage deeply with the explored concepts and metaphors. 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Calvino’s birth, a fitting time to celebrate the intricate skill of his writing. He brings magical realism to the masses through the urban landscapes of Invisible Cities. These imagined landscapes are vividly brought to life through Dave McKean’s stunning and equally complex illustrations. Fans of Borges, Nabokov, Kafka and even Murakami will find themselves captivated by this treasure trove of a book. A visual treat as well as a literary one, this is a perfect gift for the philosophers and thinkers in your life, which will have the reader coming back to it again and again.
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