From the Bookshelf of On Paths Unknown…

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler

Italo Calvino,

William Weaver (Translator)

Start date: November 6, 2015

Discussion: POSTMODERNISM ITALIAN STYLE

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POSTMODERNISM ITALIAN STYLE

* Calvino: The Castle of Crossed Destinies: Thread 1. The Tale of the Ingrate and His Punishment
By Amy (Other Am… · 24 posts · 29 views

last updated Jan 19, 2016 03:40AM

The Castle of Crossed Destinies. [ENDING SPOILERS]
By Amy (Other Am… · 4 posts · 8 views

last updated Feb 02, 2016 02:51PM

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Jun 20, 2015 Amy (Other Amy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-on-books, in-translation, story-in-a-story, lol, 1001-done, stories-about-the-nature-of-stories, the-magic-and-the-real, 2015, x-kindle, x-own-it

Well, what are you waiting for? Stretch your legs, go ahead and put your feet on a cushion, on two cushions, on the arm of the sofa, on the wings of the chair, on the coffee table, on the desk, on the piano, on the globe. Take your shoes off first. If you want to, put your feet up; if not, put them back. Now don't stand there with your shoes in one hand and the book in the other.

Adjust the light so you won't strain your eyes. Do it now, because once you're absorbed in reading there will be no bu Well, what are you waiting for? Stretch your legs, go ahead and put your feet on a cushion, on two cushions, on the arm of the sofa, on the wings of the chair, on the coffee table, on the desk, on the piano, on the globe. Take your shoes off first. If you want to, put your feet up; if not, put them back. Now don't stand there with your shoes in one hand and the book in the other.

Adjust the light so you won't strain your eyes. Do it now, because once you're absorbed in reading there will be no budging you. Make sure the page isn't in shadow, a clotting of black letters on a gray background, uniform as a pack of mice; but be careful that the light cast on it isn't too strong, doesn't glare on the cruel white of the paper, gnawing at the shadows of the letters as in a southern noonday. Try to foresee now everything that might make you interrupt your reading. Cigarettes within reach, if you smoke, and the ashtray. Anything else? Do you have to pee? All right, you know best.

Good advice before diving into this virtuoso performance of whimsy and perception, a sort of ultimate book on books, story within a story. Taking some of the most annoying tropes and tricks of literature (view spoiler) the master constructs a fascinating tale on words, memory, meaning, and the joyous, pointless, amusing, and deadly serious business of reading for the pure love of it.

It is impressive that Calvino is able to create and sustain a narrative out of his chosen form, but I found more impressive his incisive impressions of reading, romance, and life and living. His exploration of the parallels between reading and work, reading and expectation, reading and sex, reading and love, reading and just about everything else, in repeating themes throughout, are delicious and will be worth coming back to.

Those who are sensitive to themes of gender and language may wish to be aware that the initial 'you' of the story is a man before diving in. (I am not spoiler tagging that as it has been pointed out to me by wiser readers than I that this fact would be immediately apparent in the original Italian by use of the masculine singular form of 'you.') Otherwise, I have nothing more to add. The book is all of 260 pages long in English. Go on. What are you waiting for? ...more

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Oct 03, 2015 Peter rated it it was amazing

A clever postmodern classic, this book experiments with a very unique form of metafiction in order to explore the authority of the author, interpretation of literature, and the integrity of the traditional narrative. Though at times paradoxical and frustrating, this book is an extraordinary and entertaining ride.

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