# Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

16 Hacker News commenters recommended Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers recommend it as a dreamy, imaginative book that lets each reader picture the cities in their own way and stays with them.

## Why people recommend it

- Favorite book for many readers (4 comments): "Invisible Cities is my absolute favorite of his short stories." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47730440)) "my favorite piece of literature hands down" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50005725)) "it being one of my favorite books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50006485))
- Beautiful, rich, sublime prose (3 comments): "Seeing the same thing done to Calvino (and Weaver's) sublime prose feels downright criminal." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50014324)) "it blew my mind. I didn't know art could be this rich or deep" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50010090)) "my favorite piece of literature hands down" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50005725))
- Dreamy, imaginative, open to interpretation (3 comments): "The book is a trip and the dreamy sort of narration matched it perfectly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50005672)) "Part of the joy of reading this book is letting your mind’s eye run wild" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50005362)) "everybody sees the cities different in their minds eye" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50010798))
- Great travel read, lingers in mind (2 comments): "It's a great "travel" read and always puts me in the mood to explore." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50013957)) "You are bound to find at least one city that will stay with you." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47727726))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged.md): 23 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0099429837?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780099429838) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino", https://hackerapproved.com/p/invisible-cities/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).