IF ON A WINTER’S NIGHT A TRAVELER
by Italo Calvino | Translator: William WeaverMariner Books Classics | December 11, 2012
Genre: Metafiction | Rating: ★★
"It vividly demonstrates the many ways
a reader can relate to a story..."
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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.
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.
____________________________________________________________________
Anti-Dogmatic
This book was a difficult read for me, even though I approached it with as much objectivity as I could. Calvino constructs the novel out of ten story beginnings, each with its own author, genre, plot, and characters — all unfinished, all cut off just as they reach their apex. Binding these fragments together is “the Reader,” who becomes entangled in a quest to track down complete versions of each story, only to be pulled into yet another narrative thread.
I would dare say this book is didactic. It vividly demonstrates the many ways a reader can relate to a story, emphasizing the interdependent relationship between reader and writer. The narration shifts from I, to you, to we, fleshing out the reader, the other reader, and the writer in different phases. In effect, the reader becomes a character inside the book, navigating stories of wildly different styles while chasing the satisfaction of a proper ending.
Calvino plays boldly with non linear structure, pushing aside the traditional “beginning and ending” that most literature relies on. He avoids dogmatism and embraces the bizarre, abandoning the reader’s expectation of narrative closure and urging them to welcome a new concept of storytelling.
The unfinished stories themselves weren’t my problem; it was how Calvino stitched them together. The Reader is dragged through a series of increasingly absurd scenarios in an attempt to obtain complete copies of each tale — situations so implausible that, had I been reading a printed copy, I might have thrown it across the room. I have no right to tell Calvino how he should have written this book, but I do believe there might have been a more elucidating way to present his ideas.
I did my best to comprehend Calvino’s vision of diverse literature — or at least I think I did — but ultimately, it wasn’t for me. Many readers have given this book stellar ratings, and I’m sure there is a coherent way to describe its brilliance. My own review probably sounds more like the whining of a disappointed reader, but that’s the honest experience I had.
In the end, Calvino’s experiment asked more of me than I could give, and maybe that’s its own kind of story — just not one meant for my shelf.
This book was a difficult read for me, even though I approached it with as much objectivity as I could. Calvino constructs the novel out of ten story beginnings, each with its own author, genre, plot, and characters — all unfinished, all cut off just as they reach their apex. Binding these fragments together is “the Reader,” who becomes entangled in a quest to track down complete versions of each story, only to be pulled into yet another narrative thread.
I would dare say this book is didactic. It vividly demonstrates the many ways a reader can relate to a story, emphasizing the interdependent relationship between reader and writer. The narration shifts from I, to you, to we, fleshing out the reader, the other reader, and the writer in different phases. In effect, the reader becomes a character inside the book, navigating stories of wildly different styles while chasing the satisfaction of a proper ending.
Calvino plays boldly with non linear structure, pushing aside the traditional “beginning and ending” that most literature relies on. He avoids dogmatism and embraces the bizarre, abandoning the reader’s expectation of narrative closure and urging them to welcome a new concept of storytelling.
The unfinished stories themselves weren’t my problem; it was how Calvino stitched them together. The Reader is dragged through a series of increasingly absurd scenarios in an attempt to obtain complete copies of each tale — situations so implausible that, had I been reading a printed copy, I might have thrown it across the room. I have no right to tell Calvino how he should have written this book, but I do believe there might have been a more elucidating way to present his ideas.
I did my best to comprehend Calvino’s vision of diverse literature — or at least I think I did — but ultimately, it wasn’t for me. Many readers have given this book stellar ratings, and I’m sure there is a coherent way to describe its brilliance. My own review probably sounds more like the whining of a disappointed reader, but that’s the honest experience I had.
In the end, Calvino’s experiment asked more of me than I could give, and maybe that’s its own kind of story — just not one meant for my shelf.
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About the Author:
Italo Calvino’s works include Numbers in the Dark, The Road to San Giovanni, Six Memos for the Next Millennium, The Baron in the Trees, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller, Invisible Cities, Marcovaldo, and Mr. Palomar. He died in 1985.
Photo: © Jerry Bauer
TFG at 4, F2F at Sweet Spot, Sikatuna Village, QC.
Moderated by our dearest, Dr. Ranee.
Moderated by our dearest, Dr. Ranee.
Posts
A lof of us were disappointed, so don't feel disappointed. :)
ReplyDeleteI expected to like this book, to 'wow' me even.
DeleteI know better now, I guess. :)
Ditto. Perhaps we can try metafiction from other authors, yes? :)
DeleteI don't think that this book dissuade me from trying more metafiction. My love for Paul Auster is proof of that. hehehe But whether I will try another Calvino is another matter. ♥
Delete"Hauled", "Dragged"...Hahaha...I guess it really did not live up to expectations.
ReplyDeleteNo, it did not. ;)
Delete