Book Discussions
Did you read Marco Polo’s Travels? Do you think it was necessary to have read this to appreciate the dynamic between Marco Polo and Kublai Kahn? Which aspects of the dynamic between these two were conserved? What is made up (aside from the cities)? What is meant by “invisible”? Were there any cities that you would like to visit? What are all of the cities supposed to represent? Is it just Calvino having fun coming up with random cities or is there something more to it? Why is this story told through a conversation? There’s a difference between enjoying a book, and thinking that it is a good book. Did you enjoy it? Did you think it was a good book? What aspects did you appreciate or not appreciate about it? When Kublai Kahn asks Marco Polo why he never talks about Venice, MP says that in everything he talks about Venice since he will always compare every city to the first city. Do you think we can only perceive things against a frame of reference? How does this hold up to your experiences of travel?
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