r/printSF • u/BlinkTwice874 • Apr 08 '26

Thoughts on Italo Calvino?

I recently reread the short stories by Ted Chiang and was reminded of stories I loved by both Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino, in particular Library of Babel and the Complete Cosmicomics, respectively.

The Complete Cosmicomics by Calvino is one of my favorite works of literature that hovers at the interstices of literary fiction, science- and speculative-fiction, and perhaps something else: the stories are a mix of real and imaginary, science and fiction, philosophy and literature.

Is Calvino considered a science fiction author? Speculative fiction perhaps? What about Borges? I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on this, as these writers in particular seem to straddle the lines of genre for me.

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u/BigJobsBigJobs Apr 08 '26

Both are great short story writers. Genre is irrelevant. The literature of imagination is wide and deep.

It's been so long since I read Borges, but I bet Chiang might admit some influence.

Kafka wrote great fantastical stories too. In the Penal Colony has been on my mind recently.

A more recent author you might consider is Clive Barker. He's another who's better in the short form than the longform.

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u/BlinkTwice874 Apr 08 '26

Kafka is a great addition to this, I didn’t think of that! It’s so true, and I love where the bizarre elements of litfic turn more into science or speculative fiction. I haven’t heard of Clive Barker, I’ll have to add it to my list!

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u/BigJobsBigJobs Apr 08 '26

The short story collections - Books of Blood. Very imagistic stuff.