product of a brilliant mind: this engaging collection of stories shows calvino's versatility.playfully absurd fables, mind-bending exercises in combinatorics, "interviews" with somewhat deranged historical figures, glaciation interrupting a romantic encounter, an encylopedia of all human knowledge... these ideas and more are all expressed with humor, economy and wonderful style.

This is a collection of short stories, some of which have been in newspapers or magazines, and others which hadn't been previously published. Some of them were exciting, deep, engaging, and enjoyable to read. The majority of them had at least two of these qualities, but there were a few that I think I must have missed the point on, as I was just hoping that they would end. Others were over too soon, and could have benefited with a few more pages, as I had become involved in them. If it wasn't for the few duds I would have given this book a 4 and a half.
I would recommend this book to those who like short stories, as Calvino seems to write these best. With some of his longer books being just a collection of shorter pieces at heart, like Invisible Cities and If On A Winters Night. ( )

I specially liked the parable like stories in the beginning, and while all of them are good writing, I think `The Flash' was just amazing, in it's brevity. ( )