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A review by dylanhenning
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
How to even begin taking about this book? It honestly hurts my brain to think about it too hard.
I think the easiest way to describe this book is that it’s actually ten different books all interrupted at a pivotal moment. These ten books are tied together by this overarching narrative.
That’s the simple version of what If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler is. The nature of this book is much deeper and profound. It’s a love letter to the act of reading and to books themselves. It’s at times a commentary on publishing, authoritarianism, and the role books can play in a persons life. It’s a conspiracy novel, a romance novel, a mystery novel, and at times an extremely horny novel. Somehow it manages to be all of that and none of that at the same time.
I had a lot of fun reading this book and going on this wild and weird journey that Italo Calvino took me on. This is one of those books that will stick with me for a very long time. Maybe even forever.
I think the easiest way to describe this book is that it’s actually ten different books all interrupted at a pivotal moment. These ten books are tied together by this overarching narrative.
That’s the simple version of what If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler is. The nature of this book is much deeper and profound. It’s a love letter to the act of reading and to books themselves. It’s at times a commentary on publishing, authoritarianism, and the role books can play in a persons life. It’s a conspiracy novel, a romance novel, a mystery novel, and at times an extremely horny novel. Somehow it manages to be all of that and none of that at the same time.
I had a lot of fun reading this book and going on this wild and weird journey that Italo Calvino took me on. This is one of those books that will stick with me for a very long time. Maybe even forever.