t zero (A Harvest/HBJ BookH) [Paperback]

Italo Calvino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 1976

A collection of stories about time, space, and the evolution of the universe in which the author blends mathematics with poetic imagination. “Calvino does what very few writers can do: he describes imaginary worlds with the most extraordinary precision and beauty” (Gore Vidal, New York Review of Books). Translated by William Weaver. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Editorial Reviews

Review

Calvino does what very few writers can do: he describes imaginary worlds with the most extraordinary precision and beauty. -- Gore Vidal, New York Review of Books

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; First Edition edition (October 4, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156924005
• ISBN-13: 978-0156924009
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #552,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly imaginative, if somewhat tedious., April 20, 2001

By 

Ryan "The Doctor" (Meadville, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: t zero (A Harvest/HBJ BookH) (Paperback)

To the people who hate this book, I grant you the freedom of your opinion, but I have to say, "You don't get it!" This isn't a narrative in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, Calvino has taken complex scientific principles and turned them into stories. Its true that there is a certain lack of character development, as the main character is a one-dimensional atomic particle (pun intended), but even so, Calvino makes him(it?) come alive in his tales. The true feature and attraction of these stories are the situation and worlds that Calvino creates. All that being said, I read this in the same day that I read Cosmicomics, which is a prior collections of similar stories featuring the same character (and, I think, a better book overall), and the artist's conceit wore a little thin. However, if you can give these books sufficient time and space(pun intended again), they are truly fun and beautiful.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it but........., May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: t zero (A Harvest/HBJ BookH) (Paperback)

Not surprisingly the two early reviews give it 1 and 5 respectively: a book about which it is impossible to be neutral. Confusing,dense, boring writing there is - but also some amazing mathematic/scietific concepts whch Calvino masterly spins into stories - the logic/illogic (which are probably simultaneously both the same and opposite) outcomes baffle and amaze. The final section was more rewarding (being more time-space maths based) - couldn't get a handle on the evolutionary/biological stuff. I also suspect I want to read more about the text and continually get beneath its skin. Will read bits again and again and again. (Not a tour de force of narrative analysis compared to "if on a winter's night..." and castle of crossed destinies)

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest works of post-modernist fiction., August 26, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Carmel Valley, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: t zero (A Harvest/HBJ BookH) (Paperback)

Calvino is one of the masters of post-modernism, and his tales fiction highlight one of the most fundamental concerns of the movement: challenging notions of a "reality". t zero reigns as Calvino's finest, most compelling work