June 1-7: Discussion of First Half of "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler"

[Jan]

Sue wrote: "I do intend to finish this book and do like parts of it quite a bit but my weekend was my first busy one for a year and a half and I seem to be playing catch up with lots of books at once. This is ..."

That's my experience with various readings. I need to absorb and ponder a story a bit before moving on to the next. Continuing with my "conversation" with Borges, I think about some thumbs-up or thumbs-down comments about the side stories, but I always return to that ongoing discussion.

[AJ]

Well, my good intentions to delve deeper into Once on etc got rather sidelined. Lighter fiction was required for a frazzled mind, not that the choices were that great. More entries for the abandoned book shelf. However, Mr Calvino still calls me and maybe at a later stage I may catch up with the rest of you. Laters, mates.

[Jan]

AJ wrote: "Well, my good intentions to delve deeper into Once on etc got rather sidelined. Lighter fiction was required for a frazzled mind, not that the choices were that great. More entries for the abandone..."

Hello, AJ,

You made the best choice for yourself, and I remember my regret in missing our last reading discussion. These are extraordinary times. Frazzled reading can make for painful days and painful days make everything frazzled. It's my bias as a teacher, I know, but learning shouldn't be painful: challenging at times, yes; painful, no.

Stay steady. Do what you need and read what you need for yourself. If you find favorites, I'd love to hear and read your recommendations. I look forward to future discussions with you.

With a smile,
Jan

[AJ]

Jan wrote: "AJ wrote: "Well, my good intentions to delve deeper into Once on etc got rather sidelined. Lighter fiction was required for a frazzled mind, not that the choices were that great. More entries for t..."

Thanks Jan. Life is just a bit too busy at the moment for a dedicated read, but Calvino is still most definitely on my list.

Something I read recently, which I must add to my Read shelf, was Apeirogon, by Colum McCann. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Every few pages, I found myself going Wow! wow! wow!! and diverting off to Mr Google to expand knowledge on a particular topic. Although presented in novel form, the events leading to the book are based on real and on-going situations. If you read this I'd be interested to know what you think.

[Jan]

AJ wrote: "Jan wrote: "AJ wrote: "Well, my good intentions to delve deeper into Once on etc got rather sidelined. Lighter fiction was required for a frazzled mind, not that the choices were that great. More e..."

Hello, AJ,
Life is indeed crazy. I am about to add "Apeirogon" to my reading list.
Thank you!
Always a smile,
Jan

[Cindy]

I'm jumping in late in the game to the comments that have preceded me. There are parts of this book that are to me, comical. For example, the jogger who runs past houses and hears the telephone ring. Is it for him? His anxiety builds. He is overweight from his anxiety. Running should help, but when he hears the telephone ring, he can't help wondering is it for him? He wants to answer for the deaf person who can't hear the phone ring. He wants to pick it up for the paralytic who can't reach the phone in time. He wants to pick it up for the suicide to prevent his extreme act since he/she will not pick up the phone. He also wants to find out if the call is actually for him. And this section may be right after chapter six and should have been on the next discussion.

I feel that Calvino is referring the prose back to the reader. When a novel is fragmented and jumps from place to place, do we have a tendency to fill in the blanks? I do.

Just like the runner who wants to answer the phone. The rings are like the words that run on and on. We want to answer them with our own thoughts and ideas especially when the author keeps changing and challenging the direction our thoughts were headed in.

I don't know that it makes me feel anxious like the runner; but it does make it difficult for me to process the threads and make something unified out of the ramble. It's like being the runner and never being able to answer the phone. I'm looking for answers that I will never find.

I also found the marketing research section darkly humorous. A woman is hooked up to machinery to track her brain's electrical impulses while she is reading whatever it is they have given her. None of the passages appear to stimulate her impulses so those passages will have to be discarded. Is this a form of torture for the trapped reader? If I don't like a novel, do I continue reading it anyway just to say I've finished it?

And, finally, the cover on my edition has a mirrored surface. It reflects the blurred outlines of the reader without filling in the details. I thought the design of this cover an excellent commentary for the prose held within.

The novel as a unit doesn't hold together so I am contenting myself with those fragments that hold my interest while others I will forget entirely.

Anyway those are my feelings about this novel so far. I find it hard to read more than 10 to 20 pages at a time. For me, it's better to read it in short spurts so I can better reflect on what the hell was it that I just read.

[Ginny]

Cindy wrote: "I'm jumping in late in the game to the comments that have preceded me. There are parts of this book that are to me, comical. For example, the jogger who runs past houses and hears the telephone rin..."

Great reflections, Cindy. The jogger chapter was one of my favourite pieces. Maybe because it's a great stand-alone story. Successful for me as a short story.

[Jan]

Cindy wrote: "I'm jumping in late in the game to the comments that have preceded me. There are parts of this book that are to me, comical. For example, the jogger who runs past houses and hears the telephone rin..."

Ginny and Cindy,

I laughed so often during that ringing phone and jogging story! It was so droll, and it played out in my mind's eye as a wry comedy. At one point, I read parts aloud to my husband, and he "cast" Peter Sellers in the role. Like you mentioned, Cindy, we both added our own details to the unknowns in that story.

I grew uncomfortable with the brain mechanization story, and I just couldn't laugh even though I agree that it contained dark humor. Again following your speculation, perhaps I am like that trapped reader you mention; I'll read a story or book through to the end. I suppose that's because I usually find something I enjoy or come to like the work upon contriving a "new try." Still, I've encountered "torture for a trapped reader" (myself), when absolutely nothing is redeemable. Well, a "1" it is then -- the worst mark I give. (Even a non-star is neutral or positive for me for a wide number of reasons.)

Enjoy a lovely, peaceful evening. (Well, it's evening here. . . . )
Jan

[Cindy]

Ginny, I agree--it's one of the better moments in this rambling tale to nowhere.

Jan, it does have some Selleresque moments in the jogging scene. And then when he finally answers the phone...sometimes it's better to leave it ring. :)

I'm still struggling to finish this novel but am determined to do so.

When the narrative switches to 2nd person, it becomes more difficult to pay attention. The book keeps slipping further and further into the absurd which I guess is the intent.

Who is Ermes Marana beyond the villain who gives us counterfeit books and false translations? Marana is more than just a translator. He is a reader who is translating someone else's work. If he is giving us "false translations," then does he become an author by fabricating his own version of someone else's writing? Where is the line between plagiarism and creative license?

Are all translations false? Are all readers translators who give "false translations" of an author's work when we try to understand what we read?

This is why I'm struggling to get through this novel. I'll read a few lines and then, try to make some sense out of it. Instead of answers, I end up questioning my own thoughts.

[Ginny]

Cindy wrote: "Are all translations false? Are all readers translators who give "false translations" of an author's work when we try to understand what we read?"

Wow! Of course. I saw an article about this book that called it "hypermetafiction". Questioning everything about reading.

[Jan]

Cindy wrote: "Ginny, I agree--it's one of the better moments in this rambling tale to nowhere.

Jan, it does have some Selleresque moments in the jogging scene. And then when he finally answers the phone...somet..."

Cindy, I remember working dutifully the first time I tried reading _Traveler_ past the first chapter, yet it didn't quite make sense. It's then that I began laughing at funny bits and recognizing (or looking for) parallels with other works. This lightened the reading, and different parallels emerged. If you don't like something or find yourself uncomfortable pondering the philosophical questions people are posing, just move on to the next page. When possible, laugh along the way.

I've been reading and listening to passages from Don Quijote various quiet times lately. That character went mad trying to understand everything - I suspect because he tried to find lessons in an incomprehensible world. In this odd summer of 2021, I now think about dozens into hundreds of books, essays, and articles I've worked through these past 15 months -- dutifully at various times, lightheartedly in better times. A great deal of the reading has been tortuous, the lessons for many are frustrating if I can arrive at them at all, and I like best the writing which made me smile. It was either yesterday or the day before when I realized that for me _Traveler_ was a bit of a micro-experience of this bizarre time.

By today, I hope you've finished. If you enjoy pondering, that's good. If it's painful, just turn the page. I suspect this book will pop up again when you least expect it.

Closing this book now for a while.
With a smile,
Jan

Well, back to grading for me . . . .

[Yvonne]

Two thumbs up and a grin for your light hearted attitude, Jan. I like it a lot; thanks for sharing it.

[Cindy]

Jan and Yvonne, I feel lighter for having finally finished this book.

[Ken]

Ah, the Unbearable Lightness of Being (a Winter's Night Traveler who's reached the tavern with a warm bed upstairs).