Cosmicomics: Difference between revisions
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imported>Kencf0618 →Contents: Prosody & nuance. |
imported>Ser Amantio di Nicolao add Authority control |
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| image = 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> | ||
| author = [[Italo Calvino]] | | author = [[Italo Calvino]] | ||
| illustrator = | | illustrator = | ||
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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). | 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 [[List of winners of the National Book Award#Translation| | The first U.S. edition, translated by [[William Weaver]], won the [[National Book Award]] in the [[List of winners of the National Book Award#Translation|translation category]].<ref name=nba1969>[https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1969/?cat=fiction&sub-cat=translation "National Book Awards – 1969"]. [[National Book Foundation]]. Retrieved 2012-03-11. There was a "Translation" award from 1967 to 1983.</ref> | ||
==Contents== | ==Contents== | ||
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* "All at One Point": The fact that before the [[Big Bang]] the cosmos existed as a single point (the [[initial singularity]]. "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?" | * "All at One Point": The fact that before the [[Big Bang]] the cosmos existed as a single point (the [[initial singularity]]. "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 gradually appears, so do colors. Unfortunately the novelty scares off Ayl, Qfwfq's love interest. | * "Without Colors": Before there was an atmosphere, everything was the same shade of gray. As the atmosphere gradually appears, so do colors. Unfortunately the novelty scares off Ayl, Qfwfq's love interest. | ||
* "Games Without End": A galactic game of marbles played using | * "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. | * "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. | * "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 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 | * "The Form of Space": As the unnamed narrator "falls" through space, he cannot help noticing 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 spots 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 eons ago, and finds out that it was something he had wished to hide. He then starts to worry. | * "The Light Years": The unnamed narrator looking at other galaxies spots 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 eons ago, and finds out that it was something he had wished to hide. He then 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. | * "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. | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{wikiquote|Italo Calvino}} | {{wikiquote|Italo Calvino}} | ||
* {{ | * {{ISFDB name|2367|Italo Calvino}} | ||
* [http://www.themillions.com/2014/07/italo-calvinos-science-fiction-masterpiece.html "Italo Calvino's Science Fiction Masterpiece"], essay on ''Cosmicomic''s at ''[[The Millions]]'', 25 July 2014 | * [http://www.themillions.com/2014/07/italo-calvinos-science-fiction-masterpiece.html "Italo Calvino's Science Fiction Masterpiece"], essay on ''Cosmicomic''s at ''[[The Millions]]'', 25 July 2014 | ||
{{Italo Calvino}} | {{Italo Calvino}} | ||
{{Authority control}} | |||
[[Category:1965 short story collections]] | [[Category:1965 short story collections]] | ||