If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

I've never been so quickly hooked. Since the intro bade me consider the preconceptions and even physicality involved with embarking on a read, my consciousness re: the act of reading has exploded. Now I can’t help but adjourn from the commotion of the bus and give everything of myself to the tomes toted in my lap. Or perhaps the substance of the stuff is made in those moments where my gaze wanders?…sometimes both or neither

Anyway, this is mildly philosophical but so playful. How could I call its narratives a gimmick when Calvino is often anticipating and eluding my exact attitudes?

Nearly perfect but for hard and unfocused male gaze (unless you’re among those readers privately seeking this, too). I expect anyone who reads any fiction for any reason would find some resonance here

This may be my favorite book of all time.

I honestly don't know what to make of this book—which is exactly why I plan to reread it in the future. For now, I'm giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars, though that rating might change on a second read.

If On A Winter's Night A Traveller is certainly a challenge to wrap your head around and not for the faint-hearted. It's an intellectual puzzle of a novel, and I even found my vocabulary expanding with words like edulcorate and excogitate making an appearance.


There's no doubt this is a literary classic, and Italo Calvino has a dedicated cult following. However, for me, it's a bit of a Marmite book—you either love it or hate it. I enjoyed the beginning and the ending, but the middle dragged at times, and I found it slow in places.


The novel consists of 22 chapters: 12 numbered chapters that tell one continuous story, and in between them, fragments of different unfinished novels, each with a unique title. But interestingly, if you string together the titles of these fragmented stories, they almost form a coherent sentence:

“If on a winter's night a traveller... Outside the town of Malbork... Leaning from the steep slope... Without fear of wind or vertigo... Looks down in the gathering shadow... In a network of lines that enlace... In a network of lines that intersect... On the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon... Around an empty grave... What story down there awaits its end?”

Then there's the overarching story in the numbered chapters, where you—the reader—become the protagonist alongside another reader, Ludmilla, as you both search for the rest of If On A Winter's Night A Traveller, all while navigating a strange and surreal love affair.


This is the first book in my #50BooksAt50Challenge, and it originally came out when I was just three or four years old, way back in 1979. It's certainly a unique reading experience, but one I feel I need to dedicate more time to on a future read. 

This whole book is less a novel and more an experience. It will constantly pull the rug out from under you, but in a way that feels playful rather than frustrating.

Calvino doesn’t just tell a story; he pulls you into the mechanics of storytelling itself, making you, the reader, both participant and subject.

It plays around with the idea of closure that leaves you yearning for more yet feeling satisfied with what you’ve been given.

The first book I reecomend to anyone who asks for a good read.

It breaks boundaries what book can be and it that freedom it plays with charming playfulness and imagination. Had a happy grin on my face through the whole book.

If you have book burn out or a feeling that every book that you read is pretty much the same, give a Traveler a chance, he will lead you outside on cold winter air. Breathe in the cold air and hopefully you will remember why you feel in love with the books.

Cheers.

Cool concept and beautiful prose. It's very aesthetic for lack of a better description.

But Calvino is just so insanely horny. One character trips and falls on a lady in such a way that they immediately start fucking. That's what we're working with here lol

what a stunning book. highly recommend it. smart, unique, fun!

A kaleidoscope, a text-based adventure game, a pinwheel. The only book.

I like quirky books. I like books-about-books.

As best as I can figure out, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is a quirky book-about-books.

The novel begins:

“You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If On a Winter's Night a Traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade...“

Let's see if I can summarize the plot: Two people meet at a bookstore. They are both returning the same book, a book which they believe has been incorrectly bound. Somehow that book morphs into many other books, which the two follow. Along the way, there are many delightful and intriguing philosophical musings shared about how we make meaning of the world as well as reading itself.

Here's a sample:

“...you have forced your way through the shop past the thick barricade of Books You Haven't Read, which were frowning at you from the tables and shelves, trying to cow you. But you know you must never allow yourself to be awed, that among them there extend for acres and acres the Books You Needn't Read, the Books Made For Purposes Other Than Reading, Books Read Even Before You Open Them Since They Belong To The Category Of Books Read Before Being Written. And thus you pass the outer girdle of ramparts, but then you are attacked by the infantry of the Books That If You Had More Than One Life You Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately Your Days Are Numbered. With a rapid maneuver you bypass them and move into the phalanxes of the Books You Mean To Read But There Are Others You Must Read First, the Books Too Expensive Now And You'll Wait Till They're Remaindered, the Books ditto When They Come Out In Paperback, Books You Can Borrow From Somebody, Books That Everybody's Read So It's As If You Had Read Them, Too. Eluding these assaults, you come up beneath the towers of the fortress, where other troops are holding out: the Books You've Been Planning To Read For Ages, the Books You've Been Hunting For Years Without Success, the Books Dealing With Something You're Working On At The Moment, the Books You Want To Own So They'll Be Handy Just In Case, the Books You Could Put Aside Maybe To Read This Summer, the Books You Need To Go With Other Books On Your Shelves, the Books That Fill You With Sudden, Inexplicable Curiosity, Not Easily Justified...“

Calvino, Italo. If On A Winter's Night A Traveler (p. 5). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

This will go on my list of favorites.

bro read and played me like a fiddle, an absolute joy to read

I did not enjoy this at all... I didn't like the way it was written, the structure, the characters and the story/content of the book..

An ode to reading/books, this book reveals how passionate Calvino was about books, the art of reading, censorship and literary translation. These themes seemed very apt with the plot itself. even with all of these, this book has its fair share of shortcomings especially the alienation of anyone who isn't heterosexual male, the second-person narrative in the later chapter seemed rather exhausting and out of touch, this review has described this issue perfectly in my opinion. Also, his fragmented bits of each named chapter seemed like a knack for pushing the boundaries of how fiction can be written and it personally didn't seem appealing or very groundbreaking to me.

overall 3 stars/5. would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an avant-garde/experimental fiction.

I really wanted to like this and enjoyed the initial few chapters but my interest in it seemed to wane the more I read and kinda had to drag myself to the end. It's got interesting concepts and I'd love to reread it when I'm in the right state of mind + mood.

I wish this book wasn't quite such a slog

You're reading this book
it's a book about reading
you're such a horndog.

I loved the structure of this novel, with the unnamed protagonist going to increasingly bizarre lengths to try and read a complete novel (especially a couple of the twists near the end), but unfortunately most of the novels themselves were not good (they got worse to read as the book progressed) and every woman made me cringe.

I enjoyed some sections very much. However, given that the Reader seems meant to be male, I didn't feel terribly welcome in some parts of the book.

2.5

I wish that the book has only the short stories instead of one general story. This male and female reader concept really bored me down with the way of sexist storytelling but short stories kept me reading.

4,5 stars

???If on a Winter???s Night a Traveler??? makes for a great story, or rather, many stories. It was honestly devilish of Calvino to write so many good hooks for stories only for them to never be further explored. Although, perhaps they are so good precisely because they are never finished. The overarching narrative is quite whimsical and mystical at the same time while pulling you into it.
Although I had temporarily lost interest in the book for a time and would have rated it less, the final chapter of ???If on a Winter???s Night a Traveler??? tied it up too well for me to rate it any less.
???Do you believe that every story must have a beginning and an end? [...] The ultimate meaning to which all stories refer has two faces: the continuity of life, the inevitability of death.???

I would recommend it for anyone wanting to read something fresh and experimental, especially if you like unfinished cliffhangers.

Immenso. Un capolavoro di metaletteratura che fa riflettere su mille cose diverse.

A very unique book! Definitely try this if you're a fan of meta books or “mindfucks”.

I really, really enjoyed it. It's a strange one. Probably the most meta book I've ever read.

It's about writing, genres, cliches, books... It's all very, very meta. One of the most interesting aspects, to me, was the exploration of the second person (something you rarely see in books, and for a good reason, I think).

However: definitely don't read this and expect a plot-driven page turner. I would never use the word “exciting” to describe it. “Very interesting” would be more apt, however.

Brave, beautiful, and takes you on a wonderful literary journey. Must-read!

(if any of you reading this are reading this– this book felt in many ways similar to The Stanley Parable. Where Stanley questioned the boundaries of the narrative powers of a game and the relation of player and game, this book explores the relation between book and reader. Both of them use metalanguage to achieve this. And both, sometimes, are a bit cheeky!)

I initially read this book back in the 80s with far too much earnestness. I am sure I would have given it 5 stars then and waxed lyrical about it. Thirty years later it can across my path again and i re-read it and enjoyed it immensely but for very different reasons. This time i loved the humour, I read it with more of a childlike amusement at the fun of the surface of the story. The “depth” below the surface was still there but I did not need to dwell on it except to recognize, after many more years of reading under my belt, how Calvino did reflect so many aspects of reading and books.

Meh, too confusing.

Buguei com este final. Tenho muito em que pensar antes de relatar a minha experiência. Logo, logo terei o cuidado de falar dele no blog!