IRED Bookclub discussion

This thread is for discussions of the bookclub's book for February, Invisible Cities.

This thread is for the first half of the book - until the sixth chapter on page 75. So this discussion will obviously contain spoilers for the first half of the book.

Be sure to check out the thread once in a while during February, as we read the book. Don't hesitate to share your opinions - likes and dislikes - and any questions or discussions about the book you might have.

Halfway done. I'm kinda confused with what's going on. I get that Marco Polo is talking about a bunch of cities to Kublai Khan, but clearly none of the cities actually exist, and Kublai Khan seems to be well aware of that. So I'm wondering why he wants Marco Polo to keep talking about them.

So far, I'm not entirely sure what I think. I'm hoping the second half will give more than the first half.

Jonas wrote: "Halfway done. I'm kinda confused with what's going on. I get that Marco Polo is talking about a bunch of cities to Kublai Khan, but clearly none of the cities actually exist, and Kublai Khan seems ..."


Definitely felt the same way. I think the point that calvino was trying to impress upon the reader with at this point was that Khan was beginning to understand why Polo was making up all of these cities. At the beginning he was contesting because he knew that Marco was making stuff up, but I think he's becoming enchanted by the unique aspects of each city, to the point where he doesn't care if they're real or not.

I see it as Kublai = The reader, and Marco Polo as the author.
Each city can be interpreted by the reader differently - because of this, we should also not take the cities literally (like what Kublai has does in the beginning) and more so focus on the underlying themes that Marco Polo presents with each city story

Yeah, it seems like Khan has become curious with Marco's cities, and want to hear more. Like some sort of story-telling. There's definitely some meaning or story behind each city, and I'm sure we'll get more of that later in the book. So far, not very many of the cities has resonated with me. I liked the one where everyone were strangers, I thought that was an interesting idea. I also like the one where everything is made of water pipes and inhabited by nymphs, but that was mostly because it was so weird, and I absolutely do not understand what that's trying to say.

Naomi wrote: "Jonas wrote: "Halfway done. I'm kinda confused with what's going on. I get that Marco Polo is talking about a bunch of cities to Kublai Khan, but clearly none of the cities actually exist, and Kubl..."

Agreed! You make valid points.

Jonas wrote: "Yeah, it seems like Khan has become curious with Marco's cities, and want to hear more. Like some sort of story-telling. There's definitely some meaning or story behind each city, and I'm sure we'l..."

I enjoyed reading about the one which was described as having bright blue lagoons. I'm a sucker for bright, clean looking waters.

I love it. I would be lying if I said I understood everything that is happening or the meanings of all of the imaginary cities but the descriptions and conversations are amazing.

The book sort of lives between the literary and the philosophical worlds in a really intriguing way. Excited to see where it goes, or if it goes anywhere at all.

I really don't know what to think about the book. The writing style is awesome. But I'm really confused about where this is exactly going. There is little to no character development so that's kinda interesting.

But hey I'm glad it got suggested. It's really something I wouldn't normally read.