All the Places You Could Go

In this whole entire book, there are 55 cities. I don't know if I am the only one, but when I read about each of them, I always think about which I would I like to live in or which I would like to travel to. It's more of a personal opinion, but who knows maybe you agree. 

We haven't really read much, but there are two that fascinate the most. One is from the very beginning of this novel, known as Despina. "When the camel driver sees, a t the horizon of the tableland, the pinnacles of the skyscrapers come into view." I'm going to be straight forward by saying that this quote is one of my arguments, simply because I have always wanted to see a skyscraper. Maybe even stand next to it, and feel bad about my height for a while. The camel driver, "sees himself at the head of a long caravan taking him away from the desert of the sea, toward oases of fresh palm trees'." I must admit, that the sea and palmtrees are also one of my biggest weakness. I am in love with the ocean. I could stay in all day, lay by side it all day, or just stare at it all day. Where there is a sea, you'll find me! Just kidding that's a lame rhyme, but that is the main reason why I would visit this town. 

I wouldn't go for various reasons as well. Every rose has it's throne right? One of them is because of "the chimneys bleching smoke." I can not stand the smell of smoke. I can not stand the fact that such a beautiful place is being contaminated with chimneys smoke. The fact that "girls are dancing barefoot, moving their arms, half hidden by their veils, and half revealed," kind of freaks me out. Besides those little defects, I don't see any other reason not to go "a border city between to deserts." 

Another city that really interests me is Zenobia. The idea that "no one remembers what need or command or desire drove Zenobia's founders to give their city this form, and so there is no telling whether it was satisfied by the city," brings me great curiosity to find it out. Of course I can't, I am only 15 years old, and after all, these are all just "invisible cities." When "you ask an inhabitant of Zenobia to describe his vision of a happy life, it is always a city like Zenobia that he imagines." Now that simply sentence is one and just enough reason to visit this place. Happiness, is the only thing I want in my life, and to be in a place that has it, well I'll take the first plane ride their. 

Zenobia is "set on dry terrain it stands on high pilings, and the houses are bamboo and zinc, with many platforms and balconies and placed on stilts at various heights, crossing one another, linked by ladders and hanging sidewalks, surmounted by cone-roofed belvederes, barrels storing water, weather vanes, jutting pulleys, and fish poles and cranes," and pretty much takes alway all the happiness that is in it away. Another problem, is that " it is pointless trying to decide whether Zenobia is classified among happy cities or among the unhappy." What if I arrive, and I am surrounded by the unhappy? The main reason why I am their is because of it's joy that it brings. What if I am just one of those unhappy people that are there looking it's joy? I'm happy, and I wan't to go to expirence the most happy I can be, if that even make sense. 

As I keep on reading I'll keep my eyes open for more cities to explore, because in this book, there are a lot of places to go.

Quotes about Despina found on pages 17-18
Quotes about Zenobia found on page 45

Reading Between the Lines

The book explores imagination with each of the descriptions. The majority of the book is just the description of 55 different cities. If you look deeper you find quotes that really touch you. That make you really think about what they are saying in the story. Some may even touch you, or be Tumblr material, if you know what I mean. They can be contoversial with those around you, or even with you're own thoughts. 

What really gave me the idea to write this blog entry about this specific topic, was the conversation between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Marco Polo states that "cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspective deceitful, and everything conceals something else." (44) When Khan responds saying that he has "neither desires or fears" (44) I realized, that this is a lie told very often. 

We all want something in life. It could be big or small. One can want to do be a doctor with a PHD or one might just one something as a simple as love. Things like this are desires that a person can experience throughout their lives. Desire is what makes you unique. It's what you chase after. It might even create character. Like mentioned before, if a person wants to be a Doctor, dedication, intelligence, patience, strength, are different characteristics you see in Doctors, or in those who have the desire of becoming one. People can try to hide these desires in fear of disappointment, leading them to tell a lie just like Kublai Khan, but we all know thats not true. A person should go after what they want. What if this goal gets accomplished? The feeling of succes that comes after well be worth it. What if you never try? What if you lie to yourself about no wanting to do what you dream? What if you lie to others? The feeling of regret, and not help but wonder what could have been may haunt you. 

I believe There are two types of people in the world who are afraid of everything. Who are scared of trying new things, and making a change into their lives. People like me. There are others who try new things every day. Who bring change, and do things that are out of ordinary. Crazy people. I don't really know if the fact that people have no fears is a lie or just a way of being in love with adventure.  So I don't really have such a strong opinion in this part of the sentence. I guess, it just depends on the person, their type of lifestyle. How they seem to characterize themselves, and how they read between the lines of this sentence and or novel. 

Invisible Ignorance

Section 2

Nostalgia: a wistful desire to return in though or in fact to a formertime in one's life

Canopied: a covering, usually of fabric, supported on poles or orsuspended above a bed, throne, exalted personage, orsacred object

Odalisques: a female salve or concubine in a harem, especially in thatof the sultan of Turkey 

Belvederes:  a building or architectural feature of a building, designedand situated to look out upon a pleasing scene. 

Undcipherable: to discover the meaning of anything obscure or difficult to trace or understand. 

Solstice: Either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator: about June 21, when the sun reaches its northernmost point of the celestial sphere, or about December 22, when it reaches its southernmost point. 

Equinox: the time when the sun crossed the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (verna or spring equinox) and September 22 (autumnal equinox).

Awnings: A roof like shelter of canvas or other material extending over a doorway , from the top of a window, over a deck, etc., in order to provide protection, as from the sun.

Oblique: Niether perpendicular no parallel to a given line or surface. 

Agile: Quick and well- coordinated in movement. 

Section 3
Sirocco: A warm, sultry south or southeast wind accompanied by rain, occurring in the same regions.

Porphyry: Any igneous rock containing coarse crystals, as phenocrysts, in a finer- grained groundmass.

Vellum: Calfskin, lambskin, kidskin, etc., treated for use as a writing surface.

Opium: Anything that causes dullness or inaction or that soothes the mind or emotions.

Deceit: The act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

"Dream- like" story telling.

To be honest, I don't know know what to expect from this novel. Judging it by its cover, it would never call my attention. The fact that there are pictures of cities smashed together, and then something, that to met seems like a ring of fire, burning down the city, isn't something that I would recognize. By the cover, I expect a very complex story. Too complex, that I will probably won't enjoy at all, at least that's what I thought when the book was placed in my hands.

I opened the first page, ready for torture. I prepared myself all afternoon for probably one of the most boring books, I will probably have to read in my high school years, but all of a sudden that seem to change. As a flipped pages, reading word for word, I have come to realize that this book isn't bad at all. What really called my attention is the detail that he put into the book when discovering cities like Diomira, Isidora, and Dorothea. Italo Calvino describes Diomira as, "a city with sixy silver domes, bronze statues of all the gods, streets paved with lead, a crystal theater, a golden cock that crows each morning on a tower." (page 7) Making me feel as if I were right there standing in front of the statues or the domes, or the crystal theater. When describing Isidora, "a city where the building have spiral staircases encrusted with spiral swashells, where perfect telescopes and violins are made, where the foreigner between two women always encounters a third... is the city of his dream," he was able to make me think about what my dream city would be like, or if this type of city, would be my dream.

Even though we haven't read the whole story, the way Italo Calvino writes, really gets my attention. It makes me feel like I am a part of the story too. When he is narrating the story, I am able to picture myself, experiencing all of it. For how little we have read, and what is yet to come, it's like every page is contained with dreams, and as soon as you open this book, you can feel the dreams happening right in front of you. If you look at the back of the book they describe Invisible Cities as a "dream like story telling," and so far I have to say, that I agree. Although, things may change. There is the possibility of this book turning out as bad, as I expected it to be. I'll keep my fingers crossed, and my hopes high, to read a book, aside from To Kill a Mockingbird, that will catch my eye, unlike every other English novel I have read.