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{{Short description|1965 book by Italo Calvino}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{infobox book | {{infobox book |
| name = Cosmicomics | name = Cosmicomics
| title_orig = Le Cosmicomiche | title_orig = Le Cosmicomiche
| translator = ] | translator = ]
| image = File:Cosmicomiche.jpg | image = Cosmicomiche.jpg
| caption = First edition (Einaudi, 1965)<ref name=isfdb> | caption = First edition (Einaudi, 1965)<ref name=isfdb>
{{isfdb title |1010555 |Le Cosmicomiche}} ('''ISFDB'''). Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref> {{isfdb title |1010555 |Le Cosmicomiche}} (ISFDB). Retrieved 11 March 2012.</ref>
| author = ] | author = ]
| illustrator = | illustrator =
| cover_artist = ] (]) <br>A. Simi (first paper)<ref group=lower-alpha>ISFDB lists Escher for the first edition and one US paperback edition, probably 1976; no data for the first US and UK editions; A. Simi for the first paperback edition (1970, US).</ref> | cover_artist = ] (]) <br>A. Simi (first paper)<ref group=lower-alpha>The ISFDB lists Escher for the first edition and one US paperback edition, probably 1976; no data for the first US and UK editions; A. Simi for the first paperback edition (1970, US).</ref>
| country = Italy (first) | country = Italy (first)
| language = Italian (first) | language = Italian (first)
Line 26: Line 27:
| preceded_by = | preceded_by =
| followed_by = | followed_by =
}}
⚫ }}{{wikiquote|Italo Calvino}}


'''''Cosmicomics''''' ({{lang-it|Le cosmicomiche}}) is a collection of twelve short stories by ] first published in Italian in 1965 and in English in 1968. The stories were originally published between 1964 and 1965 in the Italian periodicals ''Il Caffè'' and ]. Each story takes a scientific "fact" (though sometimes a falsehood by today's understanding), and builds an imaginative story around it. An always-extant being called ] narrates all of the stories save two, each of which is a memory of an event in the history of the universe. Qfwfq also narrates some stories in Calvino's '']''. '''''Cosmicomics''''' ({{langx|it|Le cosmicomiche}}) is a collection of twelve short stories by ] first published in Italian in 1965 and in English in 1968. The stories were originally published between 1964 and 1965 in the Italian periodicals ''Il Caffè'' and ]. Each story takes a scientific theory (though sometimes a falsehood by today's understanding), and builds an imaginative story around it. An always-extant being called ] explicitly narrates all of the stories save two. Every story is a memory of an event in the history of the universe.


All of the stories in ''Cosmicomics'', together with those from ''t zero'' and other sources, are now available in a single volume collection, '']'' (Penguin UK, 2009). All of the stories in ''Cosmicomics'', together with more of Qfwfq stories from '']'' and other sources, are now available in a single volume collection, '']'' (Penguin UK, 2009).


The first U.S. edition, translated by ], won the ] in the ].<ref name=nba1969> The first U.S. edition, translated by ], won the ] in the ].<ref name=nba1969>. ]. Retrieved 2012-03-11. There was a "Translation" award from 1967 to 1983.</ref>
. ]. Retrieved 2012-03-11.<br/>There was a "Translation" award from 1967 to 1983.</ref>


==Contents== ==Contents==
⚫ * "The Distance of the Moon", the first and probably the best known story. Calvino takes the fact that the Moon ] to the Earth, and builds a story about a love triangle among people who used to jump between the Earth and the Moon, in which lovers drift apart as the Moon recedes.
⚫ * "At Daybreak": Life in a nebula before solid matter condenses, and the formation of the planets.
⚫ * "A Sign in Space": The idea that the galaxy slowly revolves becomes a story about a being who is desperate to leave behind some unique sign of his existence. This story also is a direct illustration of one of the tenets of ]—that the sign is not the thing it signifies, nor can one claim to fully or properly describe a thing or an idea with a word or other symbol.
⚫ * "All at One Point": The fact that all matter and creation used to exist in a single point. "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?"
⚫ * "Without Colors": Before there was an atmosphere, everything was the same shade of gray. As the atmosphere appears, so do colors. The novelty scares off Ayl, Qfwfq's love interest.
⚫ * "Games Without End": A galactic game of marbles played using Hydrogen atoms, before the universe had created other materials.
⚫ * "The Aquatic Uncle": A tale on the fact that at one stage in evolution animals left the sea and came to live on land. The story is about a family living on land that is a bit ashamed of their old uncle who still lives in the sea, refusing to come ashore like "civilized" people.
* "How Much Shall We Bet": Qfwfq bets against his rival Dean (k)yK about the universe's transformations, making increasingly long-term and specific conjectures.
⚫ * "The Dinosaurs": How some dinosaurs lived after most of them had become extinct, and how it felt to be that last existing dinosaur in an age where all the current mammals feared his kind as demons.
⚫ * "The Form of Space": As the unnamed narrator "falls" through space, he cannot help but notice that his trajectory is parallel to that of a beautiful woman, Ursula H'x, and that of lieutenant Fenimore, who is also in love with Ursula. The narrator dreams of the shape of space changing, so that he may touch Ursula (or fight with Fenimore).
⚫ * "The Light Years": The unnamed narrator looking at other galaxies, and spotting one with a sign pointed right at him saying "I saw you." Given that there's a gulf of 100,000,000 light years, he checks his diary to find out what he had been doing that day, and finds out that it was something he wished to hide. Then he starts to worry.
* "The Spiral": A story about life as a mollusc who creates the first shell. By creating this object of beauty to behold, he enables the development of vision in other creatures and sets off a chain reaction leading to the present day.


⚫ All of the stories feature non-human characters who have been heavily ].
⚫ *''The Distance of the Moon'', the first and probably the best known story. Calvino takes the fact that the Moon ] to the Earth, and builds a story about a love triangle among people who used to jump between the Earth and the Moon, in which lovers drift apart as the Moon recedes.
⚫ *''At Daybreak'' — Life before matter condenses.
⚫ *''A Sign in Space'' — The idea that the galaxy slowly revolves becomes a story about a being who is desperate to leave behind some unique sign of his existence. This story also is a direct illustration of one of the tenets of ] — that the sign is not the thing it signifies, nor can one claim to fully or properly describe a thing or an idea with a word or other symbol.
⚫ *''All at One Point'' — The fact that all matter and creation used to exist in a single point. "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?"
⚫ *''Without Colors'' — Before there was an atmosphere, everything was the same shade of gray. As the atmosphere appears, so do colors. The novelty scares off Ayl, Qfwfq's love interest.
⚫ *''Games Without End'' — A galactic game of marbles back before the universe had formed much more than particles.
⚫ *''The Aquatic Uncle'' — A tale on the fact that at one stage in evolution animals left the sea and came to live on land. The story is about a family living on land that is a bit ashamed of their old uncle who still lives in the sea, refusing to come ashore like "civilized" people.
*''How Much Shall We Bet'' — A story about betting on the long term evolution of mankind.
⚫ *''The Dinosaurs'' — How some dinosaurs lived after most of them had become extinct, and how it felt to be that last existing dinosaur in an age where all the current mammals feared his kind as demons.
⚫ *''The Form of Space'' — As the unnamed narrator "falls" through space, he cannot help but notice that his trajectory is parallel to that of a beautiful woman, Ursula H'x, and that of lieutenant Fenimore, who is also in love with Ursula. The narrator dreams of the shape of space changing, so that he may touch Ursula (or fight with Fenimore).
⚫ *''The Light Years'' — The unnamed narrator looking at other galaxies, and spotting one with a sign pointed right at him saying "I saw you." Given that there's a gulf of 100,000,000 light years, he checks his diary to find out what he had been doing that day, and finds out that it was something he wished to hide. Then he starts to worry.
*''The Spiral'' — A story about life as a mollusc, and the nature of love and writing.


==Adaptations==
⚫ All of the stories feature non-human characters which have been heavily ].
''"]" by Enrico Casarosa, 2011'' is a short film based on the same premise as "The Distance of the Moon."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-05 |title=First Look at Pixar's La Luna {{!}} AWN {{!}} Animation World Network |url=http://www.awn.com/articles/article/first-look-pixars-la-luna/page/1,1 |access-date=2024-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021147/http://www.awn.com/articles/article/first-look-pixars-la-luna/page/1,1 |archive-date=5 October 2013 }}</ref>


==Notes== ==Notes==
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==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}
*{{cite book | last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | authorlink=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=] | pages=86 | year=1974|isbn=0-911682-20-1}} * {{cite book | last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | authorlink=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=] | pages=86 | year=1974|isbn=0-911682-20-1}}


==External links== ==External links==
*{{isfdb name|2367|Italo Calvino}} {{wikiquote|Italo Calvino}}
⚫ * {{isfdb name|2367|Italo Calvino}}
*, essay on Cosmicomics at ], 25 July 2014 * , essay on ''Cosmicomic''s at '']'', 25 July 2014


{{Italo Calvino}} {{Italo Calvino}}
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] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 14:31, 2 November 2024

1965 book by Italo Calvino

Cosmicomics
First edition (Einaudi, 1965)
AuthorItalo Calvino
Original titleLe Cosmicomiche
TranslatorWilliam Weaver
Cover artistM. C. Escher (depicted)
A. Simi (first paper)
LanguageItalian (first)
GenreScience fiction short stories
PublisherGiulio Einaudi (Italian)
Harcourt Brace (US)
Publication date1965
Publication placeItaly (first)
Published in English1968 (US, UK)
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback (1970))
Pages188 (first)
153 (US, UK)
185 (first paper)
ISBN0-15-622600-6 (1976 US)
OCLC2521577
Dewey Decimal853/.9/14
LC ClassPZ3.C13956 Co8 PQ4809.A45

Cosmicomics (Italian: Le cosmicomiche) is a collection of twelve short stories by Italo Calvino first published in Italian in 1965 and in English in 1968. The stories were originally published between 1964 and 1965 in the Italian periodicals Il Caffè and Il Giorno. Each story takes a scientific theory (though sometimes a falsehood by today's understanding), and builds an imaginative story around it. An always-extant being called Qfwfq explicitly narrates all of the stories save two. Every story is a memory of an event in the history of the universe.

All of the stories in Cosmicomics, together with more of Qfwfq stories from t zero and other sources, are now available in a single volume collection, The Complete Cosmicomics (Penguin UK, 2009).

The first U.S. edition, translated by William Weaver, won the National Book Award in the Translation category.

Contents

  • "The Distance of the Moon", the first and probably the best known story. Calvino takes the fact that the Moon used to be much closer to the Earth, and builds a story about a love triangle among people who used to jump between the Earth and the Moon, in which lovers drift apart as the Moon recedes.
  • "At Daybreak": Life in a nebula before solid matter condenses, and the formation of the planets.
  • "A Sign in Space": The idea that the galaxy slowly revolves becomes a story about a being who is desperate to leave behind some unique sign of his existence. This story also is a direct illustration of one of the tenets of postmodern theory—that the sign is not the thing it signifies, nor can one claim to fully or properly describe a thing or an idea with a word or other symbol.
  • "All at One Point": The fact that all matter and creation used to exist in a single point. "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?"
  • "Without Colors": Before there was an atmosphere, everything was the same shade of gray. As the atmosphere appears, so do colors. The novelty scares off Ayl, Qfwfq's love interest.
  • "Games Without End": A galactic game of marbles played using Hydrogen atoms, before the universe had created other materials.
  • "The Aquatic Uncle": A tale on the fact that at one stage in evolution animals left the sea and came to live on land. The story is about a family living on land that is a bit ashamed of their old uncle who still lives in the sea, refusing to come ashore like "civilized" people.
  • "How Much Shall We Bet": Qfwfq bets against his rival Dean (k)yK about the universe's transformations, making increasingly long-term and specific conjectures.
  • "The Dinosaurs": How some dinosaurs lived after most of them had become extinct, and how it felt to be that last existing dinosaur in an age where all the current mammals feared his kind as demons.
  • "The Form of Space": As the unnamed narrator "falls" through space, he cannot help but notice that his trajectory is parallel to that of a beautiful woman, Ursula H'x, and that of lieutenant Fenimore, who is also in love with Ursula. The narrator dreams of the shape of space changing, so that he may touch Ursula (or fight with Fenimore).
  • "The Light Years": The unnamed narrator looking at other galaxies, and spotting one with a sign pointed right at him saying "I saw you." Given that there's a gulf of 100,000,000 light years, he checks his diary to find out what he had been doing that day, and finds out that it was something he wished to hide. Then he starts to worry.
  • "The Spiral": A story about life as a mollusc who creates the first shell. By creating this object of beauty to behold, he enables the development of vision in other creatures and sets off a chain reaction leading to the present day.

All of the stories feature non-human characters who have been heavily anthropomorphized.

Adaptations

"La Luna" by Enrico Casarosa, 2011 is a short film based on the same premise as "The Distance of the Moon."

Notes

  1. The ISFDB lists Escher for the first edition and one US paperback edition, probably 1976; no data for the first US and UK editions; A. Simi for the first paperback edition (1970, US).

References

  1. ^ Le Cosmicomiche title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  2. "National Book Awards – 1969". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-11. There was a "Translation" award from 1967 to 1983.
  3. "First Look at Pixar's La Luna | AWN | Animation World Network". 5 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

External links

Works by Italo Calvino
Novels
Story collections
Other
Omnibus titles
Categories: