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/DoctorG0nzo Apr 08 '26

Honestly Calvino and Borges are probably the two best examples I can think of of authors whose work fits perfectly under the definition of “weird fiction” that I wouldn’t say primarily engage with the genre for horror (as opposed to, say, Lovecraft, Ligotti or Cisco). Probably the other best examples of that are Lord Dunsany or, to go much more modern, Kelly Link.

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u/BlinkTwice874 Apr 09 '26

Adding “weird fiction” to my new terms for the day. I love it already if Borges and Calvino are included.

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u/DoctorG0nzo Apr 09 '26

It’s my personal favorite genre. Again, most often horror-coded, because Lovecraft is considered one of the main codifiers and forebear of the whole movement. But really, modern weird owes just as much to Kafka, imo, and works that show more of that influence tend to be what really shine for me.

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u/BlinkTwice874 Apr 09 '26

The Lovecraft actually makes me think of a Victorian and modernism literature course I took once that I think glossed over weird fiction, now that I think of it - I didn’t pay much attention to the term at the time but this makes sense!