Product Description

This is an account of the universe as a cosmic joke, surreal random fiction. Ofwfq is like matter - he can be neither created nor destroyed. In 1000 diverse shapes and peculiar forms he has fitted, spiralled and plodded through every strange change or evolution. This is his account.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #228100 in Books
• Published on: 1994-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Review
Metaphysical conceits are a thing of the past. Now with moon shots and interstellar probes, a writer really in tune with his age has to think of scientific conceits, or better yet, treat mathematical formulate, or theories and equations from physics, as if they were "characters" gamboling about the universe, beaming and burping through the void, carrying on the most enlightened (though not necessarily enlightening) conversations:" 'Ahal' I said. 'Why don't we play at flying galaxies?' 'Galaxies?' Pfwfp suddenly brightened with pleasure. 'Suits me. But you. . . you don't have galaxy!' 'Yes, I do. . ." ' Italo Calvino offers many similar exchanges, his tales being extraordinary and brilliant (if you like them; tiresome and thin, if you don't) variations on the whole spectrum of evolutionary transformations, contractions, and expansions that have affected time and space since whatever your version of genesis happens to be. Calvino is a witty and fanciful fellow who enjoys linguistic pirouettes somewhat in the manner of Nabokov, but he lacks the latter's commanding personality, and he relies too heavily on the pathetic fallacy (the illusion that external objects have human feelings), so we find his simple cellular creatures telling us "When I was a kid, the only playthings we had in the whole universe were the hydrogen atoms. . . ." etc. etc. For science fiction devotees, in any case, clearly the most sophisticated item yet from that genre. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Cosmic and comic
In the beginning, there was... Qfwfq? Italo Calvino apparently thought so -- his magical-realist fantasy "Cosmicomics" is one of the two best novels he ever wrote. Enchanting, surreal and whimsical, this is a look at the history of the cosmos that you will never find in any astronomy books.

Qfwfq is an ancient being -- he was a child playing with his family when the matterless void began to produce.... "things." Along with others of his kind, he has lived an immeasurably long lifetime, watching the Big Bang itself -- uniquely described in this case -- and the galaxy form, the earth cool and start to produce life.

And so Qfwfq goes through the ages, with all the rivalries, crushes, lost loves and exciting discoveries that a person experiences in their life (even though his life is uncounted millions long). And behind each of his experiences is a great cosmic event -- the Big Bang itself is caused by a loving aunt-like friend, an adolescent crush follows the moon away from the Earth, a rivalry forms between himself and the nasty Kwgwk, and his first love is doomed by his love of color on Earth's forming surface.

It takes a truly unique imagination to create something like this -- Calvino takes forming planets, whirling galaxies and ultraviolet rays, and gives them a whimsical spin. One moment he is taking your breath away with his descriptions of the Milky Way, the next he's getting smiles for the image of Qfwfq and his pals playing marbles with hydrogen atoms.

It's that mixture of grandeur and innocent whimsy that makes "Cosmicomics" so good. Not to mention, of course, Calvino's talent for poetic prose. In less than a paragraph, he can convey the vastness of the universe; in less than a chapter, he can describe the beauty of primeval Earth. In detail. Now that's really something.

Most striking of all may be the story of a motherly she-particle, whose love for him and the other beings caused "the concept of space and, properly speaking, space itself, and time, and universal gravitation, and the gravitation universe, making possible billions and billions of suns, and of planets, and fields of wheat." It takes a few minutes to sink in that Calvino wrote that the universe was first sparked by love.

Calvino never really explains what Qfwfq is -- I suppose he's an atom or something of the sort, although how atoms have "long silvery arms" or build bamboo bridges. Yet he shows us the lovable, fallible being trying out different forms through the epochs, sometimes lonely and sometimes not. And he gives Qfwfq such life, sweetness and enthusiasm that it's hard not to like him, even if we don't know exactly what he is.

Then again, getting into specifics might wreck the funny, poignant "Cosmicomics" -- it's about love and the universe, and not even the lead character can distract from that.

Bizarre and Beautiful: Cosmicomics is Unique
Nothing is ever straight forward in the literary world of Italo Calvino and Cosmicomics is no exception. This collection of surreal imaginings, each one launching off from a pithy scientific statement, anthropomorphise the raw matter of primaeval galaxies into family units, demigods of primitive matter wile away millennia playing marbles with hydrogen atoms, the moon is explored from a boat via a ladder, and a curmudgeon coelacanth seduces his nephew's fiancé. This bizarre, yet beautiful compilation of tales, are much more than pure surrealistic indulgences. They contain within them a delicate undercurrent of social comment woven into each narrative and in many propel the mind of the reader off on a journey to the beginnings of the Earth or even the Universe in a quite unique fashion. What seems to me the best thing about these stories is their wonderful way of inspiring further enquiry. I found myself consulting Darwin and Hawkings after finishing different chapters. This book is quite different from many Calvino stories but has at its core his ubiquitous playful experimentation with narrative. By the way, it is also very amusing.

Engaging stories spanning millenia and crossing infite space
This book doesn't seem to find the acclaim of Invisible Cities but for me it was more enjoyable. Is the problem that it veers to close to science-fiction for some tastes? How could you fail to be won over by the dinosaur who catches a train? Or Lieutenant Fenimore falling through infinite space, fighting with the hero for the girl while separated by the laws governing parallel lines? Not just one for the sci-fi buffs.