If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
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- Create Date：2021-04-03 13:59:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Italo Calvino
- ISBN：0099430894
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Summary
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 Traveller is the tale of two bemused readers whose attempts to reach the end of the same book， If on a Winter's Night a Traveller 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。
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 Traveller is the tale of two bemused readers whose attempts to reach the end of the same book， If on a Winter's Night a Traveller 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
Ian
，
A strange and disorienting read。 If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is sometimes too clever for its own good， its characters fickle and each sub-story stranger than the last。The book plays with point of view and meta references to the act of reading， but it's not the most elegant take on metafiction I've read （I found Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe to be altogether more enjoyable and compelling in this regard， and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series plays with me A strange and disorienting read。 If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is sometimes too clever for its own good， its characters fickle and each sub-story stranger than the last。The book plays with point of view and meta references to the act of reading， but it's not the most elegant take on metafiction I've read （I found Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe to be altogether more enjoyable and compelling in this regard， and Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series plays with metafiction from a far more comedic angle）。I might have found it more interesting if the initial chapters of the books-within-the-book were somewhat clearer genre parodies or commentaries; as it stands， I found myself rushing through most of these sections to find out what happened next to the recurring characters of Ludmilla and the Reader。An interesting read but not an easy one。 。。。more
Juan Nalerio
，
Este experimento literario de Ítalo Calvino es un homenaje a las novelas y al Lector （y la Lectora）。 Ambos protagonistas de la misma。A través de diez comienzos de novelas que van desapareciendo o son desaparecidas se va armando la ágil trama。 El libro es un juego meta literario sobre el placer de leer y lo que nos provoca la lectura。El autor escapa de la clásica historia lineal y nos plantea un juego al que entramos con gusto。 Nos saca de nuestra zona de confort y nos entretiene。 Es un must-read Este experimento literario de Ítalo Calvino es un homenaje a las novelas y al Lector （y la Lectora）。 Ambos protagonistas de la misma。A través de diez comienzos de novelas que van desapareciendo o son desaparecidas se va armando la ágil trama。 El libro es un juego meta literario sobre el placer de leer y lo que nos provoca la lectura。El autor escapa de la clásica historia lineal y nos plantea un juego al que entramos con gusto。 Nos saca de nuestra zona de confort y nos entretiene。 Es un must-read para los amantes de la narrativa。 。。。more
Hux
，
This is a very original book where you， the reader， become one of the characters。 You buy a book but it has typos so you take it back to the shop where you meet a woman， also wanting to read the book， and then you both speak to a university professor about the book， then another professor， then a publisher about a different book， then a writer about another book， then you begin a relationship with the woman， then you go to another country to find the completed manuscript。。。 and so on， etc。 Sadly This is a very original book where you， the reader， become one of the characters。 You buy a book but it has typos so you take it back to the shop where you meet a woman， also wanting to read the book， and then you both speak to a university professor about the book， then another professor， then a publisher about a different book， then a writer about another book， then you begin a relationship with the woman， then you go to another country to find the completed manuscript。。。 and so on， etc。 Sadly， that didn't work very well for me because after the first couple of chapters -- where you're in the bookshop， having a coffee， thinking about the writer -- you go on an adventure with a woman called Ludmilla that instantly makes the idea of you as a character entirely redundant。 It very quickly feels like you， the reader， is in fact not you at all， but rather some blank individual that doesn't matter in the slightest。 The initial chapter really worked and grabbed me immediately but after that， I found myself tolerating the parts of the book where you， the reader， are doing this or that。 I was excited by the idea of potentially being a character in the book but that possibility is soon discarded in favour of some generic male who frankly didn't need to be described as 'you' at all。 Meanwhile， the fictional chapters （opening chapters from books that you， the reader， are trying to find complete versions of） were far more interesting to read。 There's a really great one about a couple who kill a man and are trying to dispense of the body somewhere。 And one where a man is traumatised by ringing telephones; and an excellent erotic story set in Japan。 Plus the others are pretty great too。 When these chapters ended， I genuinely wanted to know more， what happens next， which I guess is the point。 Calvino even mentions how writing opening chapters alone is very easy because there's no expectation to fill in the blanks。 I even wonder if he deliberately squeezed a lot of his own aborted ideas for novels into this book purely to do something with them。Overall， it's an interesting idea。 But it doesn't entirely work。 The first chapter is wonderful and really excites you but the rest of the book always feels like it's chasing that initial burst of inventiveness。 It can never quite live up to it。 Which is the problem with a lot of experimental novels。I read a quote by David Mitchell about the book which rather perfectly sums up my feelings。 He essentially said he was magnetised when he first read it， but on rereading it， felt it had aged and was not as "breathtakingly inventive" as it first seemed。 To be honest， I didn't need a second reading to reach that same conclusion。 It tries to be something breathtakingly inventive but never actually achieves it。Definitely worth a read though。 。。。more
Giulia
，
Geniale prospettiva sul rapporto lettura lettore ed eccellente dimostrazione del virtuosismo di Calvino。 L'autore crea uno dopo l'altro scenari e atmosfere che trascinano il lettore protagonista della storia insieme al lettore reale del libro in un vortice。 Impossibile non leggerlo tutto d'un fiato。 Geniale prospettiva sul rapporto lettura lettore ed eccellente dimostrazione del virtuosismo di Calvino。 L'autore crea uno dopo l'altro scenari e atmosfere che trascinano il lettore protagonista della storia insieme al lettore reale del libro in un vortice。 Impossibile non leggerlo tutto d'un fiato。 。。。more
El
，
LOATHE。 Despise。 Minus one thousand stars。 I struggle to think of all the novels I've hated in my life and find one I've hated as much as this。Perhaps this was "hip" back in 1979 when it was written， but there's really no reason to read it in 2021， except utter masochism。 Unless you're a cishet old man， in which case， oh boyo！ This is the book for you。 The male gaze？ Super eww。 Every single female character is strictly for your carnal desires only。 Probably the most sexist thing I've ever read， LOATHE。 Despise。 Minus one thousand stars。 I struggle to think of all the novels I've hated in my life and find one I've hated as much as this。Perhaps this was "hip" back in 1979 when it was written， but there's really no reason to read it in 2021， except utter masochism。 Unless you're a cishet old man， in which case， oh boyo！ This is the book for you。 The male gaze？ Super eww。 Every single female character is strictly for your carnal desires only。 Probably the most sexist thing I've ever read， including the Bible。 Literally made me sick to my stomach。Postmodernism， no thank you。 I'll take my novels with actual plot and preferably without second person narration。 🤢🤢🤢🤢 。。。more
Nour The Blue Heart。
，
"لا بدّ أن يبقى شيء ما خارج سيطرتنا。。 لكي يبقى للسلطة شيء تتمرّس عليه، لكي يبقى لها فضاء تمدّ إليه أذرعتها。。。 ما دام يوجد في هذا العالم من يقوم بألعاب الخدعة فقط حبًّا بالخدعة، وما دامت هناك امرأة تحبّ القراءة من أجل القراءة، يمكنني أن أقنع نفسي بأنّ العالم يستمرّ。。。 وكلّ مساء أنا ايضًا أستسلم للقراءة، مثل تلك القارئة البعيدة المجهولة。。""حتى القمع يجب أن يتيح متنفسًا من حين لآخر، أن يغلق عينًا في بعض الأحيان، وأن يناوب بين اللين والشدّة، مع قدر من عدم إمكانية التنبؤ بتعسفاته، وإلاّ، إن لم يبقَ "لا بدّ أن يبقى شيء ما خارج سيطرتنا。。 لكي يبقى للسلطة شيء تتمرّس عليه، لكي يبقى لها فضاء تمدّ إليه أذرعتها。。。 ما دام يوجد في هذا العالم من يقوم بألعاب الخدعة فقط حبًّا بالخدعة، وما دامت هناك امرأة تحبّ القراءة من أجل القراءة، يمكنني أن أقنع نفسي بأنّ العالم يستمرّ。。。 وكلّ مساء أنا ايضًا أستسلم للقراءة، مثل تلك القارئة البعيدة المجهولة。。""حتى القمع يجب أن يتيح متنفسًا من حين لآخر، أن يغلق عينًا في بعض الأحيان، وأن يناوب بين اللين والشدّة، مع قدر من عدم إمكانية التنبؤ بتعسفاته، وإلاّ، إن لم يبقَ شيء يمكن قمعه فإنّ النظام بأكمله يصدأ ويتآكل。"ممتنة لأني أبتعت الكتاب بدون أدنى معرفة سابقة بالكاتب والكتاب نفسه، أخذته بسبب العنون فقط وعلى قول "القارئ السادس" في نهاية الرواية "اللحظة الأهم عندي هي التي تسبق القراءة。 أحيانًا يكفي عنوان ليشعل فيّ الرغبة في كتاب لربما غير موجود" وفي حالتي كان الكتاب موجودًا هو ذا。 أما بالنسبة للرواية هذه فمجنونة، عاصفة، ساحرة، ومدمرة للأعصاب أحيانًا。 أسلوب الكاتب لم يكن سهل الإستساغة في البدء، وبعد صفحات قليلة إلى أن تعودته، صار。。。 لا أعرف كيف أصف بدقة لكنه سحر القراءة。。 أو الكتابة؟ هو شيء من المتعة الباذخة؟ مغامرة تحبس النفس؟ لا أعلم صدقًا لكنه رائع جدًا جدًا جدًا ولا بدّ أن اقرأ أكثر للمجنون الكبير إيتالو كالفينو。 ٥/٥。 。。。more
Mariekaye Albao
，
Author's way of storytelling is so good， i suggest you join novelstar's writing competition on april。 Author's way of storytelling is so good， i suggest you join novelstar's writing competition on april。 。。。more
Jaeden Palanog
，
The story is powerful， I like how it was presented。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
，
Un esercizio intellettuale e stilistico eseguito brillantemente。 Però con tutto il suo virtuosismo il libro ti lascia con le mani vuote。 È un romanzo sul piacere di leggere romanzi e come tale ultimamente autoreferenziale。 Respira anche un’aria quasi anacronistica， in quanto è scritto in un’epoca in cui il valore della letteratura era ancora dato per scontato。 Però， dopo aver detto questo， devo ammettere che il libro è scritto estremamente bene e che la sua lettura è molto divertente。 Mi ha fatt Un esercizio intellettuale e stilistico eseguito brillantemente。 Però con tutto il suo virtuosismo il libro ti lascia con le mani vuote。 È un romanzo sul piacere di leggere romanzi e come tale ultimamente autoreferenziale。 Respira anche un’aria quasi anacronistica， in quanto è scritto in un’epoca in cui il valore della letteratura era ancora dato per scontato。 Però， dopo aver detto questo， devo ammettere che il libro è scritto estremamente bene e che la sua lettura è molto divertente。 Mi ha fatto venire voglia di raccontare。 。。。more
Socrate
，
Romanul începe într-o gară， pufăie o locomotivă， răsuflarea unui piston acoperă deschiderea capitolului， un nor de fum ascunde o parte din primul alineat。 Mirosul de gară e străbătut de o pală de mirosuri de la bufetul gării。 Cineva priveşte prin geamurile opace， deschide uşa cu geamlâc a barului; totul e neclar， chiar şi înăuntru， văzut cu ochi de miop， sau ochi iritaţi de grăunţele de cărbune。 De fapt， paginile cărţii sunt aburite， ca geamurile unui tren vechi; pe fraze se aşterne norul de fum Romanul începe într-o gară， pufăie o locomotivă， răsuflarea unui piston acoperă deschiderea capitolului， un nor de fum ascunde o parte din primul alineat。 Mirosul de gară e străbătut de o pală de mirosuri de la bufetul gării。 Cineva priveşte prin geamurile opace， deschide uşa cu geamlâc a barului; totul e neclar， chiar şi înăuntru， văzut cu ochi de miop， sau ochi iritaţi de grăunţele de cărbune。 De fapt， paginile cărţii sunt aburite， ca geamurile unui tren vechi; pe fraze se aşterne norul de fum。 E o seară ploioasă; bărbatul intră în bar; îşi desface pardesiul umed; un abur îl învăluie; un fluierat se porneşte de-a lungul peroanelor lucioase de ploaie， cât vezi cu ochii。Un fluierat ca de locomotivă şi un jet de aburi se înalţă din aparatul de făcut cafea， pe care bătrânul barman îl pune sub presiune， de parcă ar lansa un semnal， sau cel puţin aşa pare din succesiunea de fraze din al doilea alineat， în care jucătorii de la mese închid evantaiul cărţilor de joc la piept şi se întorc către noul venit cu o triplă răsucire a gâtului， a umerilor şi a scaunelor， în vreme ce clienţii de la bar ridică ceşcuţele şi suflă pe suprafaţa cafelei， cu buzele şi ochii întredeschişi sau sorb spuma halbelor de bere cu o atenţie exagerată， ca să nu se verse。 Pisica îşi arcuieşte spinarea， casieriţa închide casa， care face cling。 Toate aceste semne combinate ne informează că este vorba despre o mică gară de provincie， unde oricine soseşte este imediat observat。 。。。more
Pechoren a
，
في رحلة مستمرة داخل القراءة لا تنتهي
Barry
，
The most circuitous Calvino book I've read to date， 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveler' can at times feel as dense as brick and at others feel whimsical in the style I'm accustomed to expecting from Calvino。 I can rather imagine this book rendered in Calvino's mind as an ode to reading and writing， written through an oft-referenced writing block and unfortunately hardly coming together as a whole。 The most circuitous Calvino book I've read to date， 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveler' can at times feel as dense as brick and at others feel whimsical in the style I'm accustomed to expecting from Calvino。 I can rather imagine this book rendered in Calvino's mind as an ode to reading and writing， written through an oft-referenced writing block and unfortunately hardly coming together as a whole。 。。。more
Siddhant Thapaliya
，
I am not sure what I feel， or what I read or what was that or is it supposed to be like that or what is a novel or a story？ Who was that， who am i。。what the fuck。
Darshani Workman
，
Wow！ Bizarre！If On a Winter's Night A Traveler makes the movie Inception seem like child's play with more than 8 levels of reality。Cannot say this was an easy read but it certainly was a worthy read and an experience。 Calvino breaks the 4th wall and created this work of metafiction that resulted in radical lit！In essence， this story is about YOU， the reader， because YOU are the protagonist。 YOU are about to sit on your couch to read a novel by I Calvino。 （You， by the way is a male until he makes Wow！ Bizarre！If On a Winter's Night A Traveler makes the movie Inception seem like child's play with more than 8 levels of reality。Cannot say this was an easy read but it certainly was a worthy read and an experience。 Calvino breaks the 4th wall and created this work of metafiction that resulted in radical lit！In essence， this story is about YOU， the reader， because YOU are the protagonist。 YOU are about to sit on your couch to read a novel by I Calvino。 （You， by the way is a male until he makes you female observing your former male self）。 Say what？ Read on…Calvino gives us many styles of writing， genres and of course， stories within a story 10 times over。 Did I mention unfinished stories？ He posits that a story need not have a beginning， a middle and an end so he starts， starts and starts。 （if you want to write a novel and think it's too much to finish it， try Calvino for guidance :））He is also posits that books are not about the writers， rather they are about the reader。 A reader will get from a book that which is shaped by their experiences。For example， the book is broken into two sections。Numbered chapters - this is your storyNamed chapters - stories that you are reading although you are not reading the text verbatim。 Instead you are reading the perception of what you're reading。 Huh？ Exactly！ The reader's experience makes the story。 So the meaning of stories change per reader or by the number of times you read it。He forces you to think: - how a story is or can be told。 - what is the purpose of literature - why we read （hint: not for closure if you choose this book） - what we hope to get from reading。The ending is brilliant！ 。。。more
Benjamin
，
Convoluted and gripping - I felt like I was in constant conversation with Calvino himself。
Emine Deniz
，
Okura ve okumaya bir saygı duruşu。
Irene
，
A horny man’s fever dream。
Winter Rose
，
I like how the main characters met each other， I love the plot and everything about this book。 Good job writer！ If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on NovelStar， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Johan D'Haenen
，
"This book so far has been careful to leave open to the Reader who is reading the possibility of identifying himself with the Reader who is read。"De lezer wordt beetje bij beetje binnengeleid in een labyrint van onafgewerkte boeken die nochtans allemaal verband houden met elkaar。。。 de Lezer en/of de Andere Lezer？ Wat lezen zij？ Een boek/boeken？ Elkaar？ De verbeelding of de werkelijkheid？ En over welke werkelijkheid hebben we het dan？ Zeker wanneer alles telkens weer andere wendingen neemt duikt "This book so far has been careful to leave open to the Reader who is reading the possibility of identifying himself with the Reader who is read。"De lezer wordt beetje bij beetje binnengeleid in een labyrint van onafgewerkte boeken die nochtans allemaal verband houden met elkaar。。。 de Lezer en/of de Andere Lezer？ Wat lezen zij？ Een boek/boeken？ Elkaar？ De verbeelding of de werkelijkheid？ En over welke werkelijkheid hebben we het dan？ Zeker wanneer alles telkens weer andere wendingen neemt duikt steeds weer de vraag op waar dit allemaal heen leidt， wat er dan weer te gebeuren staat。。。Het is een filosofische tocht doorheen een magisch-realistische wereld， een tocht die zeker niet gemakkelijk is of vlotjes verloopt， maar daarom ook des te meer de moeite is。Ik heb antwoorden op de vragen die gesteld worden， maar dat zijn mijn antwoorden en elke lezer zal zijn/haar eigen antwoorden moeten formuleren。Nog een laatste suggestie: Maak een ketting van de tien boeken waar je doorheen reist en overpeins de ultieme vraag die dan geteld wordt。 。。。more
Alberto Avanzi
，
“C'è una linea di confine: da una parte ci sono quelli che fanno i libri， dall'altra quelli che li leggono。 Io voglio restare una di quelli che li leggono， perciò sto attenta a tenermi sempre al di qua di quella linea。 Se no， il piacere disinteressato di leggere finisce， o comunque si trasforma in un'altra cosa， che non è quello che voglio io。 E' una linea di confine approssimativa， che tende a cancellarsi: il mondo di quelli che hanno a che fare con i libri professionalmente è sempre più popola “C'è una linea di confine: da una parte ci sono quelli che fanno i libri， dall'altra quelli che li leggono。 Io voglio restare una di quelli che li leggono， perciò sto attenta a tenermi sempre al di qua di quella linea。 Se no， il piacere disinteressato di leggere finisce， o comunque si trasforma in un'altra cosa， che non è quello che voglio io。 E' una linea di confine approssimativa， che tende a cancellarsi: il mondo di quelli che hanno a che fare con i libri professionalmente è sempre più popolato e tende a identificarsi col mondo dei lettori。 Certo， anche i lettori diventano più numerosi， ma si direbbe che quelli che usano i libri per produrre altri libri crescono di più di quelli che i libri amano leggerli e basta。 So che se scavalco quel confine， anche occasionalmente， per caso， rischio di confondermi con questa marea che avanza”Un libro che parla di libri， di lettura e di lettori。Un uomo inizia a leggere un romanzo che però per un errore di impaginazione appare incompleto。 Recatosi alla libreria dove l’ha acquistato per farselo sostituire， per una serie di circostanze inizia a leggere un altro romanzo。 Da lì in avanti， per parecchie volte， ogni volta il lettore si troverà a interrompere la lettura per varie ragioni e riprendere un romanzo che crede ogni volta il seguito di ciò che sta leggendo， e invece si rivela qualcosa di nuovo。 Tutto questo avviene insieme a una donna， Ludmilla， conosciuta proprio in libreria in occasione del primo tentativo di farsi sostituire il libro。Questo libro è bellissimo。 E per me che sono abituato a parlare di libri， e anche leggere e commentare anche durante la lettura e non solo alla fine con alcuni dei miei compagni di lettura。。。 è stato bellissimo riconoscermi （come nella citazione iniziale） e riconoscervi uno per uno in singoli spunti che mi hanno dato i personaggi della "cornice" 。。。more
ElifGülenç
，
Yapboz gibi bir kitap， parçası ne zaman， nereden gelecek diye bekliyorsun。 Ya da gelecek mi？ Sonu yarım kalacak mı korkusuyla bitirdiğim bir kitap。
Camila Barros
，
"O seu modo de estar no mundo， cheia de interesse pelo que o mundo pode dar-lhe， afasta o abismo egocêntrico do romance suicida que acaba por se afundar dentro de si mesmo。""Cada novo livro que leio passa a fazer parte do livro geral e unitário que é a soma das minhas leituras。""se para vocês basta pouco para pôr a imaginação em movimento， a mim basta-me ainda menos: a promessa da leitura。""Você acha que todas as estórias devem ter um princípio e um fim？ Antigamente um conto só tinha duas maneir "O seu modo de estar no mundo， cheia de interesse pelo que o mundo pode dar-lhe， afasta o abismo egocêntrico do romance suicida que acaba por se afundar dentro de si mesmo。""Cada novo livro que leio passa a fazer parte do livro geral e unitário que é a soma das minhas leituras。""se para vocês basta pouco para pôr a imaginação em movimento， a mim basta-me ainda menos: a promessa da leitura。""Você acha que todas as estórias devem ter um princípio e um fim？ Antigamente um conto só tinha duas maneiras de acabar: passadas todas as provas， o herói e a heroína casavam-se ou morriam。 O sentido último para que remetem todas as estórias tem duas faces: a continuidade da vida， e a inevitabilidade da morte。" 。。。more
Shareen
，
DNF。
Dick
，
this was fun。 my second "postmodern" novel--much better than the first。 really inventive and involving。 treats paranoia comically。 if you try this book， read the first page aloud to yourself imagining you're saying it to somebody else。 the liveliness of that experience speaks to the outright fun this work creates。 sweet eternity， Italo。 this was fun。 my second "postmodern" novel--much better than the first。 really inventive and involving。 treats paranoia comically。 if you try this book， read the first page aloud to yourself imagining you're saying it to somebody else。 the liveliness of that experience speaks to the outright fun this work creates。 sweet eternity， Italo。 。。。more
Andy Dorsey
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I wish my Italian were good enough to read this in the original language and that I were reading it as a new arrival in 1979， because I get a strong sense of the experimental potential of this book that， unfortunately， doesn't quite survive the journey across 42 years and a language barrier。 Although the individual stories are generally rather interesting and demonstrate Calvino's ability to dabble in many genres， the frame story's philosophy really drags at some points （"The book I'm looking fo I wish my Italian were good enough to read this in the original language and that I were reading it as a new arrival in 1979， because I get a strong sense of the experimental potential of this book that， unfortunately， doesn't quite survive the journey across 42 years and a language barrier。 Although the individual stories are generally rather interesting and demonstrate Calvino's ability to dabble in many genres， the frame story's philosophy really drags at some points （"The book I'm looking for [。。。] is the one that gives the sense of the world after the end of the world， the sense that the world is the end of everything that there is in the world， that the only thing there is in the world is the end of the world。" p。 243）。One idea that Calvino floats in the book is that the beginnings of novels are sometimes the best part， and I'm afraid that this also holds true for this particular book。 The very first chapter-- in which Calvino deftly and unconventionally describes the many mental processes that one goes through before beginning to read a new book-- remains my absolute favorite of the whole volume， and I can recommend it even to those who aren't interested in reading "If on a winter's night a traveller" in its entirety。 。。。more
Harris
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Another answer to the question "what else can a book be？"I remember asking one of my elementary school teachers if there were any novels in the second person， but I think this is the first one I've encountered。 That aspect was fun。 It got even more interesting when he continued saying "you" but shifted my identity as the reader to the other protagonist。 I loved the taxonomy of books and the taxonomy of reading。I've been wanting to read Calvino ever since learning him and Agamben were friends and Another answer to the question "what else can a book be？"I remember asking one of my elementary school teachers if there were any novels in the second person， but I think this is the first one I've encountered。 That aspect was fun。 It got even more interesting when he continued saying "you" but shifted my identity as the reader to the other protagonist。 I loved the taxonomy of books and the taxonomy of reading。I've been wanting to read Calvino ever since learning him and Agamben were friends and used to run some journal/paper together。 This is my first Calvino since learning that。It's very understandably a post-modern classic and it pairs well with the Derrida course I'm in right now （though I don't find any deconstruction in it， really）。 I would have been floored by this a decade ago。 For this first time around， it often felt more like an exercise and an experiment and I guess I wasn't ready for that。 I did laugh a lot while reading it。 Calvino is pretty funny， it seems。 。。。more
Yasamin Rezaei
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You need to love the early books in postmodernism to like this one。 Frame story technique has been used as well。This is a book about books—a story about stories: and a piece about reading and writing。I loved where Calvino was portraying academia， though。 He disliked it as much as I do。 Lol。
Aaron Schuschu
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Spy story that constantly distracted itself and constantly broke the fourth wall。 The readers were actually in its world。 The book referred to itself in the third person。 Very peculiar。 Deep into my bucket list back from when I followed Louisa more closely。
Jakob Stone
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Bättre som koncept än som bok
Ugurhan Akyuz
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