From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die…

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler

Italo Calvino,

William Weaver (Translator)

Start date: February 15, 2024

Finish date: March 14, 2024

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What Members Thought

Mar 09, 2018 Arukiyomi rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books

"all the deepest joys, desires and fears of anyone who truly loves reading"

I can’t think of many novels that are as memorable as this one for its sheer audacity, its outrageous cheek, and the utter genius with which the writer sets out to toy with the reader. This is a novel-readers’ novel; from page 1, dear reader, you are invited to take the central part in what is essentially a search for meaning.

The opening page or two of this is utterly hilarious. By the time Calvino has you working your wa "all the deepest joys, desires and fears of anyone who truly loves reading"

I can’t think of many novels that are as memorable as this one for its sheer audacity, its outrageous cheek, and the utter genius with which the writer sets out to toy with the reader. This is a novel-readers’ novel; from page 1, dear reader, you are invited to take the central part in what is essentially a search for meaning.

The opening page or two of this is utterly hilarious. By the time Calvino has you working your way through a bookshop, he has exposed all the deepest joys, desires and fears of anyone who truly loves reading. At this point, you’ve probably checked more than once to see if you are in fact reading some kind of foreword to an actual novel. But no, you aren’t. In fact, you aren’t reading an actual novel at all.

Well, not all of one because Calvino takes you through no less than ten novels none of which get much further than a few pages before something serves to render them inaccessible. This something is often farcical, and that’s the overall impression you get of the entire book.

But there’s something much more meaningful lurking deep under this layer of farce. Calvino forces us to ask questions about what a novel is, who makes one, whether you can read one if you can’t finish one, what the purpose of writing is, whether a novel is simply a further extension of the human narrative or an end in itself, and whether meaning is essential for the success of writing, whether reading and writing are two separate process or two sides of the same coin, and whether or not we should bother with all this deep philosophy when all we really want is a jolly good yarn.

When my wife and I had each finished this book, we decided we wouldn’t leave it in the house we were sitting in Sweden for a local family because it was a book that we wanted to be able to go back to later on. Being a world nomad, hanging onto physical copies of books is not something I do lightly. Simply that desire to keep hold of it and go back to it again is probably the biggest testament of why this is an important novel.

I can hardly wait to see what impression a second reading makes. Having read it once though, it’s bound to be unexpected! ...more

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Jun 01, 2011 M rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, library, read-in-2011, favorites

This book is perfect. That's it.

If on a winter's night a traveler is a love letter to readers and reading, and an insight into the process of writing. I think it's important to know the structure of this novel to really love it, especially if you are not keen on post-modern literary devices. First, the majority of the novel is written in second person, so the reader is actually the Reader and protagonist. I think this is great fun and, although I'm not a thirty-something white male, I didn't car This book is perfect. That's it.

If on a winter's night a traveler is a love letter to readers and reading, and an insight into the process of writing. I think it's important to know the structure of this novel to really love it, especially if you are not keen on post-modern literary devices. First, the majority of the novel is written in second person, so the reader is actually the Reader and protagonist. I think this is great fun and, although I'm not a thirty-something white male, I didn't care obliterating myself temporarily and becoming this Reader for better enjoying this amazing piece of writing. Kind of a choose your own adventure book, only you don't really get to choose. Second, this is heavily influenced by a great tradition of tale-tellers, best represented by Arabian Nights (and Raymond Queneau), which means that we start several stories and the only one that ever finished is that of the Reader (you!). I thought this trick would soon tire me and wondered how Calvino would invent ten different excuses to justify abruptly cutting the ten diffent incipits, but he does and I grew more interested, if possible. Of course, after a while, it starts turning a bit surreal, like magical realism. It helped that that one is a genre I already love. I was positively invested on the Reader (my!) quest to find the missing novels, as I was also (mildly) irritated when the stories suddenly halted. After all, I am a committed reader and simply need to know what happens next. After a while, though, I started considering the incipits as fully developed short stories, and found them amazing on their own. I also think everyone who considers him or herself a reader should read If on a winter's night a traveler, or at least the first chapter. I identified with the Reader buying this book in a bookshop. Such a simple act from the outside, but such a battle on the inside, as we face the difficult task of choosing one single book to bring back home (like adopting an abandoned kitty!). One of my favorite passages.

I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this book. ...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Chick_Flick rated it liked it

I know I will have to revisit "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" some time in the future. The book is very demanding and I cannot do it justice with just one reading. However, was it an enjoyable book for me? Not really. Although I can appreciate the beauty of the writing, I am happy to have finally reached the last page. ...more

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May 18, 2017 Astrid Lim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, contemporary, twist, book-of-books

It took longer for me to finish this book. It started really ok, with the postmodern "reader as the main character" and some experiments of Calvino with some unfinished stories- kinda like stories inside story thing. Some of them are good, but the longer I read the book the harder it took for me to get immersed into the story. There are even some boring moments that made me stopped reading it for a while.

I still like the idea of this book- hence the 3 stars rating. But it's not as enjoyable as I ...more

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