Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities is the ultimate travel book.

Every time he returns from his travels, Kublai Khan asks Marco Polo to tell him about the magnificent cities he has visited. Polo is talking about one city (his home city of Venice), but Kublai sees invisible cities: nothing but everything.

When Kublai is in dark mood, Marco Polo tells him: “This is the aim of my explorations: examining the traces of happiness still to be glimpsed, I gauge its short supply. If you want to know how much darkness there is around you, you must sharpen your eyes, peering at the faint lights in the distance.”

When Kublai is in fits of euphoria, Marco Polo tells him: “When you know at last the residue for unhappiness for which no precious stone can compensate, you will be able to calculate the exact number of carats toward which that final diamond must strive.”