If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino
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Description
Italo Calvino imagines a novel capable of endless mutations in this intricately crafted story about writing and readers. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler turns out to be not one novel but ten, each with a different plot, style, ambience, and author, and each interrupted at a moment of suspense. Together they form a labyrinth of literatures, known and unknown, alive and extinct, through which two readers, a male and a female, pursue both the story lines that intrigue them and one another.Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Ludi_Ling Different yet both well-written approaches to meta-fiction.
151
CGlanovsky Excerpts and intimations of books that don't exist. A celebration of reading.
30
GlebtheDancer Metafiction, characters appear as both actors in and tellers of the same story
20
Artran Metafiction, stories within stories, tale about power of storytelling, Ajvaz wittingly elaborate Calvino's aesthetics.
rebeccanyc Both books deal with books within books, and have a mysterious feel.
wester Playing with authors styles. Do not read if you take Literature very seriously.
11
Member Reviews
This is a wonderful book, about the joy and complexity of reading. Calvino intersperses his unusual second person narration ("You are about to begin reading...") about a reader whose attempts to read a new novel keep getting interrupted and each time you (he, I) think you have found the continuation of the story it is actually a different, even more intriguing book.
As well as allowing the writer to exhibit a command of language and particularly of voice which is nothing short of breathtaking (I especially think of fragments set in Japan and in South America, where I could instantly hear the subtle nuances of accent and a different culture in the narrators' voices), he explores the various things that it means to read a book, to connect show more with the words on a page and the meaning and experiences, the worlds that they contain.
Calvino explores reading for pleasure and information, for seeking truth and for bolstering ideas already strongly held. He looks at the effects that perceiving possible readers might have on the writer and, most importantly and most powerfully, he points to the power of books and the effect of censorship.
It is one of those books that will leave thoughts and images and, most especially, ideas swirling around my head for a long time to come. As an intellectual exercise "On A Winter's Night A Traveler" is magnificent, but it is also superb as a story, subtly thrilling and funny.
As always with a translation, it must be a work of two minds. Especially with a book as clever and subtle as this, the talent of translator William Weaver should be applauded. show less
As well as allowing the writer to exhibit a command of language and particularly of voice which is nothing short of breathtaking (I especially think of fragments set in Japan and in South America, where I could instantly hear the subtle nuances of accent and a different culture in the narrators' voices), he explores the various things that it means to read a book, to connect show more with the words on a page and the meaning and experiences, the worlds that they contain.
Calvino explores reading for pleasure and information, for seeking truth and for bolstering ideas already strongly held. He looks at the effects that perceiving possible readers might have on the writer and, most importantly and most powerfully, he points to the power of books and the effect of censorship.
It is one of those books that will leave thoughts and images and, most especially, ideas swirling around my head for a long time to come. As an intellectual exercise "On A Winter's Night A Traveler" is magnificent, but it is also superb as a story, subtly thrilling and funny.
As always with a translation, it must be a work of two minds. Especially with a book as clever and subtle as this, the talent of translator William Weaver should be applauded. show less
On the first page of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, Italo Calvino anoints you (The Reader) as the protagonist of the novel. If you're anything like I was, your eyes will roll a little and you'll mouth the word "gimmick" to yourself. I remember thinking something along the lines of, "Ok pal, let's see how far you can take your little trick. As long as we're not about to do some dopey 'choose your own adventure' thing, I guess I'll be able to stomach this." Weirdly enough, the moment that thought popped in my head, Calvino immediately called me out for it.
Calvino was right. I really had become too cynical as a reader, never hoping for much more than a tool to help pass the time. So from that point on, I made a sincere effort to let the book take me wherever it wanted to go. I'm glad I did.
This is a book that could have gone wrong in so many different ways. Half the chapters are written in second person. There are (at least) eleven different plots written in eleven different styles. Metafiction is pervasive, and this was particularly scary for me, because nothing makes me want to set a book on fire like an author hanging around his own story. Calvino, though, never falters once.
Despite the frequent transitions between styles, the prose is airtight. There are a whole lot of locations throughout the various stories that The Reader (me, or I guess it would be you) reads, but it's always clear where we are and what we're doing.
What I found most impressive about each of the ten interrupted narratives is that Calvino uses The Reader's mindset at the time he's reading to influence the way the narrative is presented. A good example is the second story, Outside the Town of Malbork. Before we begin reading, we have a conversation with a woman in a bookstore named Ludmilla, who tells us:
Most importantly, this is a really fun book. I haven't had this much fun reading a book since at least Pale Fire, and it wasn't surprising to me in the slightest when I found out that Vladimir Nabokov was an influence on Calvino. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler reminded me that reading should be a convivial experience, one that connects you to a world of places, actions, and emotions that feel brand new to you whether you've experienced them before or not. This isn't a philosophical heavyweight by any means, but who says great books have to be about something heavy? A book can obviously change your life by making you think, but it can also change your life by enhancing it, by putting you in touch with the aspects of the world that bring you the most joy. I don't consider that to be escapism. That's just living right.
And if you still had any doubts about picking this one up, there's a character that's suffering from terrible writer's block brought about by a poster of Snoopy on his wall. In a very serious voice, he says:
It's not that you expect anything in particular from this particular book. You're the sort of person who, on principle, no longer expects anything of anything. There are plenty,show more
younger than you or less young, who live in the expectation of extraordinary experiences: from books, from people, from journeys, from events, from what tomorrow has in store. But not you. You know that the best you can expect is to avoid the worst.Shit. Guilty as charged. Shame on me.
Calvino was right. I really had become too cynical as a reader, never hoping for much more than a tool to help pass the time. So from that point on, I made a sincere effort to let the book take me wherever it wanted to go. I'm glad I did.
This is a book that could have gone wrong in so many different ways. Half the chapters are written in second person. There are (at least) eleven different plots written in eleven different styles. Metafiction is pervasive, and this was particularly scary for me, because nothing makes me want to set a book on fire like an author hanging around his own story. Calvino, though, never falters once.
Despite the frequent transitions between styles, the prose is airtight. There are a whole lot of locations throughout the various stories that The Reader (me, or I guess it would be you) reads, but it's always clear where we are and what we're doing.
What I found most impressive about each of the ten interrupted narratives is that Calvino uses The Reader's mindset at the time he's reading to influence the way the narrative is presented. A good example is the second story, Outside the Town of Malbork. Before we begin reading, we have a conversation with a woman in a bookstore named Ludmilla, who tells us:
"I prefer novels that bring me immediately into a world where everything is precise, concrete, specific. I feel a special satisfaction in knowing that things are made in that certain fashion and not otherwise, even the most commonplace things that in real life seem indifferent to me."Lo and behold, Outside the Town of Malbork is presented to us in that exact style. We aren't reading straight text. We're reading a brain that's processing the text. That to me is pretty awesome.
Most importantly, this is a really fun book. I haven't had this much fun reading a book since at least Pale Fire, and it wasn't surprising to me in the slightest when I found out that Vladimir Nabokov was an influence on Calvino. If on a Winter's Night a Traveler reminded me that reading should be a convivial experience, one that connects you to a world of places, actions, and emotions that feel brand new to you whether you've experienced them before or not. This isn't a philosophical heavyweight by any means, but who says great books have to be about something heavy? A book can obviously change your life by making you think, but it can also change your life by enhancing it, by putting you in touch with the aspects of the world that bring you the most joy. I don't consider that to be escapism. That's just living right.
And if you still had any doubts about picking this one up, there's a character that's suffering from terrible writer's block brought about by a poster of Snoopy on his wall. In a very serious voice, he says:
"I must take this damned Snoopy down from the wall as quickly as possible, but I can't bring myself to do it."God, I love this book. show less
What an unusual book that reads so addictively! What a remarkable and exhaustive exploration into books - into reading and writing them... Sounds dry? Not at all! It's funny and serious and downright enchanting at times, with characters who are puzzling and very real at the same time. Plots within plots, individuals and cultures as to their attitude towards books and reading; what makes something a good read - from different perspectives; some unavoidable criticism of censure; satire directed at tendency of some to over-examine or over-interpret a novel and lose the best of it in the process, and so much more tackled in this little book. This is a book in which I didn't want to miss a single sentence...
[Review written by my younger self]
Italo Calvino's book, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, begins by assaulting the reader:
"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice--they won't hear you otherwise--"I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!" Maybe they haven't heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell; "I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything; just hope they'll leave you alone."
And so goes the opening paragraph. show more The entire introduction is an encouragement to read, with the punchline being that Calvino himself is delaying your reading of his novel!
But don't think this book a non-fiction. The book is in fact a text that is part short story collection, part novel within a novel, part commentary on reading, and part... well, I don't know... It's hard to say. The format follows The Reader and The Other Reader (the latter a woman named Ludmilla) as they go through reading ten very different novels, never quite finishing any one. As the characters find themselves not finishing their novels, so do the readers of Calvino's book.
Interspersed through these engaging vignettes are some very interesting ideas on what reading means and how different types of reading can affect the way a story is perceived. In showing us this view into his mind, Calvino in effect plays a magic trick on the reader by affecting the way his very novel is read. Unlike authors who try to immerse you in the worlds of their novels, Calvino takes his words and encourages them to float off the page, insisting that you be reminded over and over again that you are, in fact, reading the novel. His idea becomes then to not "let the world around you fade" but to capture it and celebrate it in text.
The texts themselves are far from humdrum. In fact, their stories are so absorbing that it is no wonder that some readers simply can't take it. Consisting of everything from romances to typical airport thrillers to strange science fiction, the stories remain threaded together by the equally enthralling experience of the two characters. For those who find the Reader and Other Reader less compelling than the stories they read, frustration is definitely a given. Hence, this novel is not for everyone.
In the MTV generation of fast-moving everything, it's hard to believe that this novel doesn't have some place among those not interested in a unique and entertaining treatise on reading and writing, but it's very possible that we're just not as finicky as we thought. There's no doubt in my mind that Calvino tells a great story. In fact, he tells several great stories. Still, keep in mind the caveat that picking up this novel is not the same as picking up a focused one-story narrative novel; it's not even the same as picking up a collection of short stories.
Still, the novel as a whole is funny, suspenseful, thought-provoking, and, yes, frustrating. It is a love note to the act of reading, and a love note to all kinds of readers. And, sometimes, love hurts. It's possible that Calvino derives some kind of masochistic enjoyment from playing with the readers, and it's possible that those who get to the end of the novel are masochists themselves. Still, it is also possible that Calvino is letting his readers in on a delicious secret, if only they are willing to stay for the ride. show less
Italo Calvino's book, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, begins by assaulting the reader:
"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice--they won't hear you otherwise--"I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!" Maybe they haven't heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell; "I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything; just hope they'll leave you alone."
And so goes the opening paragraph. show more The entire introduction is an encouragement to read, with the punchline being that Calvino himself is delaying your reading of his novel!
But don't think this book a non-fiction. The book is in fact a text that is part short story collection, part novel within a novel, part commentary on reading, and part... well, I don't know... It's hard to say. The format follows The Reader and The Other Reader (the latter a woman named Ludmilla) as they go through reading ten very different novels, never quite finishing any one. As the characters find themselves not finishing their novels, so do the readers of Calvino's book.
Interspersed through these engaging vignettes are some very interesting ideas on what reading means and how different types of reading can affect the way a story is perceived. In showing us this view into his mind, Calvino in effect plays a magic trick on the reader by affecting the way his very novel is read. Unlike authors who try to immerse you in the worlds of their novels, Calvino takes his words and encourages them to float off the page, insisting that you be reminded over and over again that you are, in fact, reading the novel. His idea becomes then to not "let the world around you fade" but to capture it and celebrate it in text.
The texts themselves are far from humdrum. In fact, their stories are so absorbing that it is no wonder that some readers simply can't take it. Consisting of everything from romances to typical airport thrillers to strange science fiction, the stories remain threaded together by the equally enthralling experience of the two characters. For those who find the Reader and Other Reader less compelling than the stories they read, frustration is definitely a given. Hence, this novel is not for everyone.
In the MTV generation of fast-moving everything, it's hard to believe that this novel doesn't have some place among those not interested in a unique and entertaining treatise on reading and writing, but it's very possible that we're just not as finicky as we thought. There's no doubt in my mind that Calvino tells a great story. In fact, he tells several great stories. Still, keep in mind the caveat that picking up this novel is not the same as picking up a focused one-story narrative novel; it's not even the same as picking up a collection of short stories.
Still, the novel as a whole is funny, suspenseful, thought-provoking, and, yes, frustrating. It is a love note to the act of reading, and a love note to all kinds of readers. And, sometimes, love hurts. It's possible that Calvino derives some kind of masochistic enjoyment from playing with the readers, and it's possible that those who get to the end of the novel are masochists themselves. Still, it is also possible that Calvino is letting his readers in on a delicious secret, if only they are willing to stay for the ride. show less
I *adored* this book. Funny, clever without being condescending and with a heart so big it envelops you with every page.
Very rarely do you come across a novel that actually understands the Reader (note the capitalisation there) but this spoke to me from page one.
It's not just a 'love story' between the reader (little r) and the written word either. Even though it was written in 1979, there is an underlying satirical subtext exploring how we are 'fed' our culture that resonated with me now in 2013.
I'm also very glad I read this after Cloud Atlas as it's a clear influence (something I had confirmed when researching this after finishing it) and I would've been cross with Mitchell instead of just appreciating the homage.
A word of warning show more though. Make this a 'nook' book. Hide yourself away. Throw yourself under the duvet. Distractions will only get in the way. show less
Very rarely do you come across a novel that actually understands the Reader (note the capitalisation there) but this spoke to me from page one.
It's not just a 'love story' between the reader (little r) and the written word either. Even though it was written in 1979, there is an underlying satirical subtext exploring how we are 'fed' our culture that resonated with me now in 2013.
I'm also very glad I read this after Cloud Atlas as it's a clear influence (something I had confirmed when researching this after finishing it) and I would've been cross with Mitchell instead of just appreciating the homage.
A word of warning show more though. Make this a 'nook' book. Hide yourself away. Throw yourself under the duvet. Distractions will only get in the way. show less
If on a winter's night a traveler begins by addressing the reader:
It quickly becomes apparent that the narrator is show more not, in fact, addressing the reader, but is instead addressing the protagonist of the novel, the Reader, who is addressed in the second person as 'you' throughout the novel.
In the odd-numbered chapters, we are told the story of the Reader attempting to read a novel--at first, If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino--but never quite managing to get through one; he always reads just the beginnings of books, which are given in the even-numbered chapters. Each new novel is generally purported to be the same one which the Reader has just been reading, but bears no resemblance to it, telling a different story in a different style and genre. Each story, though, does tend to share some themes with previous stories, or have other similarities. For example, after a story in which mirrors feature prominently, later stories feature mirrors, or doubles, or something metaphorically similar, and several stories involve the protagonist trying to find a way to relate the inner world with the outer--or trying to separate the two.
Eventually, the plot involving the Reader begins to make some sense of the succession of initial chapters, and the Reader gets involved in a plot of his own, featuring love and danger and all one might expect from a story in which the Reader is the protagonist.
The novel is quite self-aware; it addresses the protagonist, the Reader, as 'you' (though the narrator will address another character as 'you', at another time), and we, the readers, are given to wonder if we are meant to identify with this Reader, and if the 'you' of the narrator is addressing us or the character. And then, too, there is the question of the narrator's "I", which is addressed explicitly in the second chapter, which is (supposedly) the first chapter of the book the Reader has just purchased--If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino:
The plot of the odd-numbered chapters turns on the mystery of how all these misprinted books came to be, and whether the Reader will ever get to finish a book.
I enjoyed the first half of this book rather more than the second half. The way the book is put together, the writing, the themes building on each other in unrelated stories, all that is really excellent. And the experience of reading chapters addressed to a Reader who is 'you' but is not you works very well, too. But, as the plot begins to unravel (at least partly) in the second half, it lost a little of its charm. Some of it was just obscure for the sake of being obscure--which is appropriate, given the plot, but its appropriateness didn't give it deeper meaning. Or, its deeper meaning was really something shallow. And it began to feel like the plot of the odd-numbered chapters was dragging on--though this was perhaps intentional, given the way things very suddenly wrap up at the end.
If on a winter's night a traveler is certainly worth reading, if you want to see a book make excellent use of some literary tricks. show less
You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice—they won't hear you otherwise—"I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!" Maybe they haven't heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell: "I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or If you prefer, don't say anything; just hope they'll leave you alone. If on a winter's night a traveler (1981), 3
It quickly becomes apparent that the narrator is show more not, in fact, addressing the reader, but is instead addressing the protagonist of the novel, the Reader, who is addressed in the second person as 'you' throughout the novel.
In the odd-numbered chapters, we are told the story of the Reader attempting to read a novel--at first, If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino--but never quite managing to get through one; he always reads just the beginnings of books, which are given in the even-numbered chapters. Each new novel is generally purported to be the same one which the Reader has just been reading, but bears no resemblance to it, telling a different story in a different style and genre. Each story, though, does tend to share some themes with previous stories, or have other similarities. For example, after a story in which mirrors feature prominently, later stories feature mirrors, or doubles, or something metaphorically similar, and several stories involve the protagonist trying to find a way to relate the inner world with the outer--or trying to separate the two.
Eventually, the plot involving the Reader begins to make some sense of the succession of initial chapters, and the Reader gets involved in a plot of his own, featuring love and danger and all one might expect from a story in which the Reader is the protagonist.
The novel is quite self-aware; it addresses the protagonist, the Reader, as 'you' (though the narrator will address another character as 'you', at another time), and we, the readers, are given to wonder if we are meant to identify with this Reader, and if the 'you' of the narrator is addressing us or the character. And then, too, there is the question of the narrator's "I", which is addressed explicitly in the second chapter, which is (supposedly) the first chapter of the book the Reader has just purchased--If on a winter's night a traveler by Italo Calvino:
I am not at all the sort of person who attracts attention, I am an anonymous presence against an even more anonymous background. If you, reader, couldn't help picking me out among the people getting off the train and continued following me in my to-and-fro-ing between bar and telephone, this Is simply because I am called "I" and this is the only thing you know about me. but this alone is reason enough for you to invest a part of yourself in the stranger "I." Just as the author, since he has no intention of telling about himself, decided to call the character "I" as if to conceal him, not haying to name him or describe him, because any other name or attribute would define him more than this stark pronoun; still, by the very fact of writing "I" the author feels driven to put into this "I" a bit of himself, of what he feels or imagines he feels. Nothing could be easier for him than to identify himself with me; for the moment my external behavior is that of a traveler who has missed a connection, a situation that is part of everyone's experience. But a situation that takes place at the opening of a novel always refers you to something else that has happened or is about to happen, and it is this something else that makes it risky to identify with me, risky for you the reader and for him the author; and the more gray and ordinary and undistinguished and commonplace the beginning of this novel is, the more you and the author feel a hint of danger looming over that fraction of "I" that you have heedlessly invested in the "I" of a character whose inner history you know nothing about, as you know nothing about the contents of that suitcase he is so anxious to be rid of. If on a winter's night a traveler (1981), 14–15
The plot of the odd-numbered chapters turns on the mystery of how all these misprinted books came to be, and whether the Reader will ever get to finish a book.
I enjoyed the first half of this book rather more than the second half. The way the book is put together, the writing, the themes building on each other in unrelated stories, all that is really excellent. And the experience of reading chapters addressed to a Reader who is 'you' but is not you works very well, too. But, as the plot begins to unravel (at least partly) in the second half, it lost a little of its charm. Some of it was just obscure for the sake of being obscure--which is appropriate, given the plot, but its appropriateness didn't give it deeper meaning. Or, its deeper meaning was really something shallow. And it began to feel like the plot of the odd-numbered chapters was dragging on--though this was perhaps intentional, given the way things very suddenly wrap up at the end.
If on a winter's night a traveler is certainly worth reading, if you want to see a book make excellent use of some literary tricks. show less
In my edition of If on a Winter's Night a Traveller the cover allows you to read the beginning of the book itself. This is a clever trick, particularly in this instance, as it allows you to innocently start reading it without committing to anything; and so it sucks you in.
You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter'a night a traveller. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice - they won't hear you otherwise - "I am reading! I don't want to be disturbed!"
Maybe they haven't heard you, with all the racket; speak louder, yell: "I'm show more beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything: just hope they'll leave you alone.
And this is precisely how it continues. It alternates between chapters addressing the reader as "you", describing reading situations that become steadily more incredible, distancing itself ever more from your actual reading situation; and the opening chapter of a series of very different books.
There is a certain something about opening chapters in books. It is the part of the book that requires most attention while seemingly giving the least in return: it is where you become aware of the direction of the book, where the book (hopefully) captures your attention and makes you want to read on, but which does not yet provide any satisfaction. A book consisting entirely (or at least half) of opening chapters, therefore creates a very odd reading situation.
You end up reading it the way you normally read opening chapters: you do not feel safe in it, secure that you can skip a sentence here or there because you know what is coming; you cannot skim boring parts (I am not saying there are any) … . The book makes you automatically pay more attention to it than you otherwise might.
If I may make the connection to sex (which the book itself does quite overtly: it is well aware of the literary theory climate of the 70s), it is a series of beginning arousals that are never satisfied. It is a delicious book, but it leaves you wanting to read all those non-existent books. The only one of the stories that is given an ending is that of the reader, which began on the first page.
The first of the reader's chapters seduced me entirely. I did not stop for breath, but allowed to to completely take me over. The second stopped me short as it suddenly became apparent that the reader, the "you" to whom the text was addressed, was male. I remember stopping at this, a little disappointed, before reading on. From there on I read the "you" as "he", and the second person narrative might for all intents and purposes be third person. As a student of literature, this is of course interesting as highlighting the author's assumptions &c., &c.; but as a reader enjoying the book on a more visceral level, it threw me. I still enjoyed it tremendously, but it lost an edge I had, naively, perhaps, excepted it to carry all the way to the end. The redeeming factor is, of course, that Calvino is clearly aware of it: it is only another game among all the others he plays with reading and the reader.
The opening chapters are all in wildly different styles. Not all of them appealed to me right off the bat, as it were, but they all managed to suck me in (usually just as they ended). There is a cold war spy thriller (I think), a Japanese erotic novel, a Russian revolutionary story and some Parisian crime. And more. Following the pattern of the continuing story, though, there always appears to be some sinister opponent and a woman to be desired.
I feel I can never do justice to this book. I loved it the first time I read it. Despite the perpetual frustration of the unfinished novels, and the steadily more insane main narrative. I still love it. It keeps screaming for analysis, but only so that it can turn the tables on you. It is sneaky. And enjoyable. I doubt anyone could ever say that anything was a "typical" Calvino book (any cathegory that is wide enough to encompass Invisible Cities and Our Ancestors, well... . But that is just where I am going. Because it is so clearly not a typical book of any kind, but a book that picks and chooses (or rather, declines to choose) between any number of genres, so happily; because it soaks them in a cocktail of a not-so-subtle meditation on the reader, based in a theory of reading fueled by desire; I think that is what makes me think of this as the Typical Calvino Novel. show less
You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter'a night a traveller. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice - they won't hear you otherwise - "I am reading! I don't want to be disturbed!"
Maybe they haven't heard you, with all the racket; speak louder, yell: "I'm show more beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything: just hope they'll leave you alone.
And this is precisely how it continues. It alternates between chapters addressing the reader as "you", describing reading situations that become steadily more incredible, distancing itself ever more from your actual reading situation; and the opening chapter of a series of very different books.
There is a certain something about opening chapters in books. It is the part of the book that requires most attention while seemingly giving the least in return: it is where you become aware of the direction of the book, where the book (hopefully) captures your attention and makes you want to read on, but which does not yet provide any satisfaction. A book consisting entirely (or at least half) of opening chapters, therefore creates a very odd reading situation.
You end up reading it the way you normally read opening chapters: you do not feel safe in it, secure that you can skip a sentence here or there because you know what is coming; you cannot skim boring parts (I am not saying there are any) … . The book makes you automatically pay more attention to it than you otherwise might.
If I may make the connection to sex (which the book itself does quite overtly: it is well aware of the literary theory climate of the 70s), it is a series of beginning arousals that are never satisfied. It is a delicious book, but it leaves you wanting to read all those non-existent books. The only one of the stories that is given an ending is that of the reader, which began on the first page.
The first of the reader's chapters seduced me entirely. I did not stop for breath, but allowed to to completely take me over. The second stopped me short as it suddenly became apparent that the reader, the "you" to whom the text was addressed, was male. I remember stopping at this, a little disappointed, before reading on. From there on I read the "you" as "he", and the second person narrative might for all intents and purposes be third person. As a student of literature, this is of course interesting as highlighting the author's assumptions &c., &c.; but as a reader enjoying the book on a more visceral level, it threw me. I still enjoyed it tremendously, but it lost an edge I had, naively, perhaps, excepted it to carry all the way to the end. The redeeming factor is, of course, that Calvino is clearly aware of it: it is only another game among all the others he plays with reading and the reader.
The opening chapters are all in wildly different styles. Not all of them appealed to me right off the bat, as it were, but they all managed to suck me in (usually just as they ended). There is a cold war spy thriller (I think), a Japanese erotic novel, a Russian revolutionary story and some Parisian crime. And more. Following the pattern of the continuing story, though, there always appears to be some sinister opponent and a woman to be desired.
I feel I can never do justice to this book. I loved it the first time I read it. Despite the perpetual frustration of the unfinished novels, and the steadily more insane main narrative. I still love it. It keeps screaming for analysis, but only so that it can turn the tables on you. It is sneaky. And enjoyable. I doubt anyone could ever say that anything was a "typical" Calvino book (any cathegory that is wide enough to encompass Invisible Cities and Our Ancestors, well... . But that is just where I am going. Because it is so clearly not a typical book of any kind, but a book that picks and chooses (or rather, declines to choose) between any number of genres, so happily; because it soaks them in a cocktail of a not-so-subtle meditation on the reader, based in a theory of reading fueled by desire; I think that is what makes me think of this as the Typical Calvino Novel. show less
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Re-reading a novel you loved is like revisiting a city where you loved: you do it in the company of your younger self. You may not get on with your younger self, or else the absence of what is missing colours your judgment. Despite my reservations, however, I wouldn't want a word of If on a winter's night a traveller to be different, and if Calvino's ghost seeks me out after this, I'll still show more get down on my knees and pay homage. show less
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Author Information
387+ Works 69,847 Members
Italo Calvino 1923-1984 Novelist and short story writer Italo Calvino was born in Cuba on October 15, 1923, and grew up in Italy, graduating from the University of Turin in 1947. He is remembered for his distinctive style of fables. Much of his first work was political, including Il Sentiero dei Nidi di Ragno (The Path of the Nest Spiders, 1947), show more considered one of the main novels of neorealism. In the 1950s, Calvino began to explore fantasy and myth as extensions of realism. Il Visconte Dimezzato (The Cloven Knight, 1952), concerns a knight split in two in combat who continues to live on as two separates, one good and one bad, deprived of the link which made them a moral whole. In Il Barone Rampante (Baron in the Trees, 1957), a boy takes to the trees to avoid eating snail soup and lives an entire, fulfilled life without ever coming back down. Calvino was awarded an honorary degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1984 and died in 1985, following a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death, he was the most translated contemporary Italian writer and a contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore
- Original title
- Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore
- Original publication date
- 1979
- People/Characters
- Ludmilla Vipiteno; Lotaria Vipiteno; You; Silas Flannery; Irnerio; Ermes Marana (show all 42); Armida; Dr. Marne; Chief Gorin; Brigd; Hunder; Aunt Ugurd; Bronko; Mr. Kauderer; Ponko Kauderer; Gritzvi; Professor Uzzi-Tuzii; Zwida Ozkart; Professor Galligani; Valerian; Irina Piperin; Alex Zinnober; Mr. Cavadagna; Jojo; Bernadette; Ruedi The Swiss; Lorna Clifford; Marjorie Stubbs; Elfrida; Mr. Okeda; Makiko Okeda; Madame Miyagi; Nacho Zamora y Alvarado; Don Anastasio Zamora; Anacleta Higueras; Amaranta Higueras; Doña Jazmina; Jacinta; Faustino Higueras; Arkadian Porphyrich; Anatoly Anatolin; Franziska
- Important places
- Provincial Train Station; Kudgiwa; Petkwo; Paris, France; France; Japan (show all 9); Ataguitania; Oquedal; Ircania
- Dedication
- For Daniele Ponchiroli
- First words
- You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler.
- Quotations
- "Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that has just appeared and I find myself reading the same book I have read a hundred times."
In the shop window you have promptly identified the cover with the title you were looking for. Following this visual trail, you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven’t Read, which... (show all) were frowning at you from tables and shelves, trying to cow you. But you know you must never allow yourself to be awed, that among them there extend for acres and acres the Books You Needn’t Read, the Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading, Books Read Even Before You Open Them Since They Belong To The Category Of Books Read Before Being Written. And thus you pass the outer girdle of ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of the Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days are Numbered.
What makes lovemaking and reading resemble each other most is that within both of them times and spaces open, different from time and measurable space. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And you say, “Just a moment, I’ve almost finished If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino.”
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Sto per finire Se una notte d’inverno un viaggatore di Italo Calvino. - Blurbers
- Rushdie, Salman; Sage, Lorna; Massie, Allan; Leonard, John; McCarthy, Mary; Updike, John
- Original language
- Italian
- Canonical LCC
- PQ4809.A45 S3713
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 853.914 — Literature & rhetoric Italian, Romanian & related literatures Italian fiction 1900- 20th Century 1945-1999
- LCC
- PQ4809 .A45 .S3713 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Italian literature Individual authors, 1900-1960
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