This book is not just an essay on literature but a deep exploration of thought, perception, and our relationship with reality. Through six key values: Lightness, Speed, Accuracy, Visibility, Multiplicity, and Beginning and Ending, Calvino outlines a vision that extends beyond writing, touching on philosophy, science, and art.
While reading you can see the tension between order and chaos, between structure and freedom. Lightness is not superficiality but a triumph over the weight of existence; quickness is the ability to capture the essence without losing depth; multiplicity is an awareness of complexity without being overwhelmed by it. And above all, every beginning is an opening to possibility, while every ending remains a question mark rather than a definitive closure.
What struck me the most is thinking that even if this book was written in 1985, feels incredibly relevant today: in an era of information overload and fleeting images, Calvino reminds us of the importance of precision in a world of empty words, of visibility as imagination that enlightens, of lightness as an antidote to the heaviness of life. Rather than providing answers, the book offers tools to ask the right questions: how can we tell the story of our time in a meaningful way? How can we shape complex thinking without being lost in the noise?
Calvino does not impose absolute truths but leaves behind a valuable legacy: literature, and creativity in general, as a continuous attempt to make sense of chaos, to build a balance between infinite possibilities, to start again and again, even when everything seems to have already been said or written or created.
