Ratings63
Average rating4.2
Introduction by Peter Washington; Translation by William Weaver Italo Calvino’s masterpiece combines a love story and a detective story into an exhilarating allegory of reading, in which the reader of the book becomes the book’s central character. Based on a witty analogy between the reader’s desire to finish the story and the lover’s desire to consummate his or her passion, IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELER is the tale of two bemused readers whose attempts to reach the end of the same book—IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELER, by Italo Calvino, of course—are constantly and comically frustrated. In between chasing missing chapters of the book, the hapless readers tangle with an international conspiracy, a rogue translator, an elusive novelist, a disintegrating publishing house, and several oppressive governments. The result is a literary labyrinth of storylines that interrupt one another—an Arabian Nights of the postmodern age.
Reviews with the most likes.
I wanted to like this, and I can see why others do, but I couldn't get past meh. The fact that it explicitly imposes a male gaze POV on the reader probably didn't help.
I enjoyed some sections very much. However, given that the Reader seems meant to be male, I didn't feel terribly welcome in some parts of the book.
One of my favourite postmodern works. The narrative within the narrative lends a very interesting dimension to the book. The final point of the book, however,may seem to be lost while the reader tries to bring the threads of the stories together. The end result, though a loose end, is in fact quite satisfying. I would love to re-read this again and again.
If on a winter's night a traveler explores the experience of reading, and the place of the reader, author, text and rest of the world in said endeavor. The Reader (who is a character in the novel) finds his attempts to read the novel frustrated by incomplete texts, interrupted narrations, false translations, and other diversions, so that the novel is made up of the beginning of ten different novels as well as the Reader's own adventures with another reader and with the truth of the novel. Delightful, witty and inventive.
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1,584 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...