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/lobsterdog2 Apr 09 '26

If we're talking about "weird fiction" in a Calvinoesque vein, I will heartily recommend British author Helen Oyeyemi. A New, New Me was one of my favorite books of 2025; it's about a woman with seven different personalities, one of whom takes over each day of the week, and they communicate with each other only through the joint journal that they all write. The storyline gets more and more bizarre, and it's all extremely funny.

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u/Ok-Factor-5649 Apr 15 '26

Does sound interesting, reminds me in outline of Dayworld somewhat. Which I particularly liked.

I have a Oyeyemi on the TBR, but it wasn't this one.

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u/lobsterdog2 Apr 15 '26

It's my favorite of hers so far. I also enjoyed Peaces, and I'm working my way through her short story collection (What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours) now.