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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
It was an interesting concept and premise. However, it was also far too meta and confusing for me personally. While I probably could’ve pushed through it, I wasn’t enjoying the reading experience. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever pick this one back up unfortunately.
my brain is too small to appreciate this book and I lost interest as I got more confused
This is such a weird and meta absurdist book in the best way. It felt like a love letter to readers and the action of reading itself. I really enjoyed the different perspectives and views on books and reading, and the format of the novel itself. The language used is very beautiful, despite being hard to follow at times as is the point. I read the William Weaver English translation so I’m interested to see what differences in meaning arise in the different translations vs the original Italian. I will note that I didn’t enjoy all of the stories within the story and that Calvino really can’t write women well at all. They are essentially just sexual objects or only serve to advance the plot for male characters. He also seems to have a problem writing non white characters and stories (which also included the weird sex stuff with women). I would be interested to see if that is prevalent in his other work or not.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Das ist ein echt beeindruckendes Buch. Sprachlich ist es sehr gut und außergewöhnlich, und die Geschichte ist ziemlich verrückt und originell. Nur hatte ich nicht wirklich Spaß beim Lesen - gerade am Ende. Ich kann selbst nicht sagen woran es lag. Was mich auch etwas überrascht hat, dass da schon einige "heftige" Erotikszenen im Buch waren. Die waren auch total seltsam. Aber es ist eh alles seltsam an diesem Buch. Man sollte keine normale Geschichte mit einen roten Faden erwarten.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Italo Calvino’s timeless classic embeds 10 short stories within a broader framework. While the narrative of the short stories and of the overall stories seem removed from each other at first, it becomes apparent that they form an overall tale of reading and what it means to be a reader. A truly wonderful novel about the meaning of reading.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
This was a wild and absurdist ride. I absolutely loved the way it built structurally and the ending was stunning tbh.
That being said, it was a bit of work to track at times (fine, but just sayin) and the agency and dimensionality of women in the world was pretty dismally lacking.
That being said, it was a bit of work to track at times (fine, but just sayin) and the agency and dimensionality of women in the world was pretty dismally lacking.