About this title: Enchanting stories about the evolution of the universe, with characters that are fashioned from mathematical formulae and cellular structures. "Naturally, we were all there, - old Qfwfq said, - where else could we have been? Nobody knew then that there could be space. Or time either: what use did we have for time, packed in there like sardines?" ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very Good. 0156226006 Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Text in English, Italian. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 168 p. Harbrace Paperbound Library, 69. Audience: General/trade. Totally clean & unmarked inside & out. Light wear to covers with a few light creases, slightly rough edges, and slightly bent or turned up corners. Great copy. read more
Description: Rubin Pfieffer. Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Found in collectable plastic bag so it's in really nice shape. Text in English, Italian. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 168 p. Harbrace Paperbound Library, 69. Audience: General/trade. Nice looking cover design with blurb form Gore Vidal "Calvino does very what few writers can do: He describes imaginary worlds with the most extraordinary precision and beauty"(new York Review Of Books) read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 1976-10-04
ISBN-13:9780156226004ISBN:0156226006
Description: Very Good. Harvest Books [Published date: 1976]. Soft cover, 153 pp. Reprint. Very good/ NO dust jacket. Cream pictorial soft covers have very light bumping to edges and corners. Light overall rubbing. Binding tight. Pages crisp clean and bright with no markings. NOT Ex-library. NO remainder marks. read more
Description: New. Orders placed after Dec. 7 cannot be guaranteed delivery before Christmas. GREAT BUY. Brand New From US Distributor. WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3, 500, 000 BOOKS SOLD. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 1976
ISBN-13:9780156226004ISBN:0156226006
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 1976-10-01
ISBN-13:9780156226004ISBN:0156226006
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780156226004. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Abacus
Date Published: 1984
Description: Good. PAPERBACK. Contents clean and tight, covers rubbed, bumped and lightly creased. Clean and sound with some reading wear. Over twenty years selling secondhand books. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt Brace & World
Date Published: 1968
Description: GOOD in Acceptable jacket. USED First Edition Dust Jacket Ex-library. Foxing, edge wear, spine a bit cocked. DJ is nicked, wrinkled and creased around the edges. The inside pages are ok. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780224615662ISBN:0224615661
Description: Good. This is an EX LIBRARY copy with all the usual stamps/markings etc. This is an EX LIBRARY copy with all the usual stamps/markings etc. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HARCOURT, BRACE & WORLD., NY
Date Published: 1968
Description: First American Editon. Fine in a close to fine dj. (Hint of mild shelfwear to edges of dj. Tiny nick at base of front panel of dj. ) A sharp copy of a title which has become elusive in recent years. (O) read more
Edition: FIRST EDITION
Binding: HARDCOVER
Publisher: HARCOURT BRACE AND WORLD, INC, NEW YORK NY
Date Published: PUB 1965
Description: FINE IN A VERY GOOD+ D.J. TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY WILLIAM WEAVER. BOOK IS FINE WITHOUT ANY MARKS TO THE BINDING OR THE TEXT. D.J. HAS A SMALL CHIP AT THE TOP OF THE SPINE PANEL PARTIALLY AFFECTING THE HIGHLY SET BOOK TITLE, A COUPLE OF SHORT TEARS ALONG THE TOP EDGE, FAINT DAMP ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE REAR SPINE EDGE FOLD, SOME LIGHT RUB, AND IS PRICE-CLIPPED. A VERY NICE CLEAN, BRIGHT, UNFADED COPY WITH NO REMAINDER MARK. read more
Edition: 1st Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harcourt Brace & World, New York
Date Published: 1968
Description: Fine in Fine jacket. 153 pages First American edition, first printing. Originally published in Italy as "Le Cosmicomiche" in 1965. Translated from the Italian by William Weaver. Dust jacket design by Robin Forbes. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with very slight rubbing to the cover folds. Price clipped. read more
"I thought this book was actually pretty neat. I just read over the overview on Wikipedia, and I remember the individual stories much better than I thought I would. I think my three favorites are probably The Light Years, The Spiral and At Daybreak. But, now that I look at the list again, some of the stories are so very similar that they all blur together like a foggy world. Maybe that's what Calvino wanted.
I couldn't really find any discussion questions that I liked enough. And really, the work seemed so light (or maybe it was just too deep for me) that maybe it's not worth writing a whole bunch. It was a fun short read, good for a plane ride!"
"As a practicing scientist (I don't think you can ever get it quite right) this book is a good example of the poetry that is infused with science. From the first page Calvino starts you off by introducing the concept that the Moon is slowly moving away from the Earth and then launches the reader into a world where beings exist at a time when the Moon and Earth nearly touched. The story transforms what could be seen as a cold scientific fact into a playful erotic compelling story about love, lust, and lunar milk. The book continues this way-- each short story not equal to the next-- but since they are short stories you can just skip them if you want!"
"The 'Cosmicomics' stories are a unique form of storytelling - a mixture of science fiction, humour, fantasy and romance. They are told through the eyes of old Qfwfq, who was there at the Big Bang ('...where else could I have been?') and has experienced everything from evolution in action to the formation of stars, narrating as an old man might to his grandchildren. The other stories here are just as interesting, turning mathematical conjectures into real scenarios. For example, one story takes place in just one frozen second, as a hunter wonders whether the arrow he has fired at a leaping lion will hit or miss. This is truly a wonderful compilation, and I would strongly recommend it to anybody."
"Calvino takes on scientific discourse and the narrative of creation: would be my one sentence take on Cosmicomics. And he doesn't do a half-bad job of it, in fact his look at signs is almost readable, and his story of otherness and Dinosaurs is pretty fun, not to mention the excellent (if short lived) All at one point. However, the above being said, it often feels as if Calvino is hindered, rather than inspired, by the urge to retain a strong fidelity to the science; as a result sometimes the writing lacks lustre, the stories become mechanical. This tendency is heightened by the (un)fortunately wondrous first story. Though it does not follow the general narrative creation story of the collection, it is still head and shoulders above all the rest, and worth the purchase/borrow/find all on its own. Read the first story, put the book down, and then find that other Calvino book you'd been meaning to read and sit down with that, then, maybe, pick up Cosmicomics again, read the first and marvel anew, and then read a few more of the stories and figure out if you want to read them.
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