Qfwfq is the age old entity that narrates the stories in this book. Each story starts with a statement about the universe, life, quantum mechanics or astronomy and then Calvino constructs a story around the statement. The stories range in breadth from what it was like when all the matter in the universe was contained in one point, discussions about how the more distant galaxies are the swifter they move away from one another, a description of the dinosaurs becoming extinct, and more. The stories Qfwfq narrates are playful and imaginative.
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The review of this Book prepared by John Marcel
To call this a collection of short stories would be to limit and to dignify it unfairly. _Cosmicomics_ is a series of parables ... or scenarios ... and sometimes full-fledged stories which all take as their jumping-off point a simple scientific fact, stated up front, such as the moon is responsible for tides, all matter in the universe once occupied a single point, fish eventually crawled onto land, and dinosaurs ruled the earth for a long time. A character -- or conscious entity -- named "Qfwfq" narrates most of these stories (he was THERE!), relating what it was like to be in the point, to be a particle of light, to be a dinosaur, to leave the oceans forever. The stories are playful, startling, and mind teasing. Someone once called them science fiction fairy tales, which is a decent description. The delightful feat of a fertile imagination.
The review of this Book prepared by David Loftus
