'If on a Winter's Night a Traveler' by Italo Calvino is a cleverly written metafictional novel that explores the experience of reading, involving the reader in the novel's plot. The book follows the journey of two readers who continuously encounter incomplete texts, interrupted narrations, false translations, and other diversions, leading to a narrative composed of the beginnings of ten different novels as well as the readers' own adventures. The story delves into the themes of reading, writing, creating, falsifying, and living, offering a multi-layered and inventive narrative that blurs the lines between reality and fiction.
The narrative structure of the book is designed to prevent any forward momentum, creating little islands of brilliance within unresolved chapters. Through a series of interrupted narratives, the book engages readers in a post-modern exploration of reading and writing, with each chapter offering a unique perspective on genres and storytelling techniques. Calvino's writing style weaves together humor, wit, and self-referential wit, making the experience of reading the central theme of the novel and inviting readers to become active participants in the story.
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Has Romance?
There is a romantic subplot involving the Reader and another character, Ludmilla, but it is not the central focus of the narrative.
From The Publisher:
These seemingly disparate characters gradually realize their connections to each other just as they realize that something is not quite right about their world. And it seems as though the answers might lie with Hawthorne Abendsen, a mysterious and reclusive author whose bestselling novel describes a world in which the US won the War... The Man in the High Castle is Dick at his best, giving readers a harrowing vision of the world that almost was. "The single most resonant and carefully imagined book of Dick's career." ??-??New York Times
Ratings (57)
Incredible (18) | |
Loved It (25) | |
Liked It (8) | |
It Was OK (3) | |
Did Not Like (3) |
Reader Stats (145):
Read It (58) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (73) | |
Did Not Finish (6) | |
Not Interested (6) |
2 comment(s)
“If on a winter’s night a traveler” is an Interesting book that is not at all what it seems. The book begins by informing the reader that they are reading the new novel by Italo Calvino. The author then encourages reader to get comfortable before beginning to read the book. Just as the reader gets thirty pages into this book, a page error is discovered which makes it impossible to read the rest of the book.
This problem leads to a search for a complete copy of “If on a winter’s night a traveler” which is more of a wild goose chase than anything else. Instead of this being on complete book, it is ten books written by ten different authors and ten different writing styles. Filed between the separate books are chapters in which the reader tries in vain to find a complete copy of the original story he was reading.
This book can best be referred to as a literary nesting doll due to the variety of stories presented in this one book.
Overall, the book provides a very intriguing writing method that I have never seen before and would be interested to see if any other author could attempt a similar feat.
This is a difficult book to review because it's so unlike anything I've ever read; it certainly doesn't conform to structural conventions, which makes it both fascinating and frustrating to read. I'm ultimately going with a four-star rating, because while this book is masterfully written and completely unique, it's not without its flaws.
Are you reading or daydreaming?
First of all, the prose is absolutely gorgeous. Five million stars for style. At times, its incredibly evocative, with settings practically leaping off the page. In other cases, Calvino delves into the philosophy of reading, writing, books, and language through lengthy passages that are occasionally difficult to follow but nonetheless mesmerizing. And, of course, the highly meta narrative for which this book is famous is a totally unique experience that is utterly captivating, both on its face and for its technical brilliance.
One reads alone, even in another’s presence.
That said…prioritizing style came at a cost, and that cost is that all the short stories scattered throughout the novel are, essentially, pointless. Perhaps some of them have thematic importance, but I was ultimately disappointed that none of them tied into the plot or were even resolved. Calvino didn't care about this (which I have to respect), but I do.
(Also, I could have done without the weird sex stuff.)
But
that said, I was interested in the plot and happy with the ending, so maybe I can't really complain too much after all.
…you who insisted you preferred a book, something solid, which lies before you, easily defined, enjoyed without risks, to a real-life experience, always elusive, discontinuous, debated.
What can you read after
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler?
About the Author:
ITALO CALVINO (1923-1985) attained worldwide renown as one of the twentieth century's greatest storytellers. Born in Cuba, he was raised in San Remo, Italy, and later lived in Turin, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere. Among his many works are Invisible Cities, If on a winter's night a traveler, The Baron in the Trees, and other novels, as well as numerous collections of fiction, folktales, criticism, and essays. His works have been translated into dozens of languages.
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