  cosmicomics is a book of short stories by italo calvino first published in italian in 1965 and in english in 1968. each story takes a scientific "fact" (though sometimes a falsehood by today's understanding), and builds an imaginative story around it. an always extant being called qfwfq narrates all of the stories save two, each of which is a memory of an event in the history of the universe. qfwfq also narrates some stories in calvino's t zero. all of the stories in cosmicomics, together with those from t zero and other sources, are now available in a single volume collection, the complete cosmicomics (penguin uk, 2009). the first u.s. edition, translated by william weaver, won the national book award in the translation category. "national book awards â 1969". national book foundation. retrieved 2012-03-11.there was a "translation" award from 1967 to 1983. ==contents== *the distance of the moon, the first and probably the best known story. calvino takes the fact that the moon used to be much closer to the earth, and builds a story about a love triangle among people who used to jump between the earth and the moon, in which lovers drift apart as the moon recedes. *at daybreak â life before matter condenses. *a sign in space â the idea that the galaxy slowly revolves becomes a story about a being who is desperate to leave behind some unique sign of his existence. this story also is a direct illustration of one of the tenets of postmodern theory â that the sign is not the thing it signifies, nor can one claim to fully or properly describe a thing or an idea
1965_short_story_collections Postmodern_books Science_fiction_short_story_collections