Invisible Cities

1. 170
   Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings (New Directions Paperbook, 186) by Jorge Luis Borges (WSB7)

   WSB7: Both have wonderfully imaginative but controlled semiotic exercises.

2. 141
   Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges (Carnophile)

   Carnophile: Both books are liesurely contemplations of fantastical situations, not plot- or character-driven, but conceptual.

3. 113
   The City & The City by China Miéville (snarkhunt)

   snarkhunt: Calvino's book is a travelogue of impossible societies while China's book is a sweet little noir stuck in the middle of one.

4. 51
   The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges (Torikton)
5. 30
   Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was by Angélica Gorodischer (spiphany)
6. 20
   Mr. Palomar by Italo Calvino (P_S_Patrick)

   P_S_Patrick: Thes two books are in some ways very like each other, and in some ways quite the opposite. In Mr Palomar various locations, things, and thoughts are described precisely with the utmost eloquence and detail, whereas in Invisible Cities, it is one place being described in many different ways, hazy, as if seen through lenses of different qualities, and warping mirrors. But the effect is much the same, both books give you something to think about, make you see things in different ways, and are a pleasure to read. Both books also contain no strong plot, and consist of many small and diverse sections, and in a way, could be dipped into. Where Palomar gets very much into the mind of the protagonist, and his fixed, elaborate, and definite interpretations of reality, Invisible Cities is similar in that the recollections are also told from the point of view of the narrator, but differ each time, none being tied to reality, all of them containing aspects of truth found through how you interpret them. If you enjoyed reading one of these books, you should enjoy the other.… (more)

7. 20
   Solution 11-167: The Book of Scotlands by Momus (Kolbkarlsson)

   Kolbkarlsson: Written in the same vein, The Book of Scotlands lists a series of alternative scotlands previously unheard of. Every Scotland is written in it's own style, but with similar wit and daunting imagination.

8. 20
   Tainaron: Mail from Another City by Leena Krohn (ari.joki)

   ari.joki: An allegory of the human condition by revealing one facet at a time through presenting a foreign, strange city with foreign, strange inhabitants.

9. 10
   Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (WSB7)

   WSB7: Each has a partially factual/partially imagined frame.

10. 10
    The Logogryph: A Bibliography Of Imaginary Books by Thomas Wharton (unctifer)
11. 10
    The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo (Jannes)
12. 10
    Marcovaldo or The Seasons in the City by Italo Calvino (unctifer)
13. 21
    Viriconium: "The Pastel City", "A Storm of Wings", "In Viriconium", "Viriconium Nights" by M. John Harrison (Torikton)
14. 10
    Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente (PhoenixFalls)
15. 32
    The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel (VanishedOne)

    VanishedOne: One is systematic and compendious, the other flows freely from one impression to another, but both flit between windows onto imaginary vistas.

16. 00
    Dreams and stones by Magdalena Tulli (DieFledermaus)
17. 00
    Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot on and Never Will by Judith Schalansky (CGlanovsky)

    CGlanovsky: Little vignettes about places. Calvino's are more fanciful and there's a twist, while Schalansky's are little anecdotes based on actual bizarre and out-of-the-way places.

18. 00
    Freud's Alphabet: A Novel by Jonathan Tel (hdcanis)

    hdcanis: A novel starring a historical person (Marco Polo or Sigmund Freud) exploring a city (Venice or London) in fragmentary manner, each fragment handling a different aspect of the city.

19. 00
    The Aphorisms of Kherishdar by M. C. A. Hogarth (sandstone78)

    sandstone78: Vignettes that create a picture of something greater.

20. 00
    Ailleurs : Voyage en Grande Garabagne - Au pays de la Magie - Ici, Poddema by Henri Michaux (claudiamesc)

    claudiamesc: Visionario, delirante, spietato, un bellissimo libro... un viaggio attraverso popoli dell'immaginazione, per chi si è già fatto trasportare da Marco Polo...

(see all 24 recommendations)