A review by quenchgum
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

4.0

Italo Calvino starts off ten stories and then cuts them off right when they get going. You never actually find out what happens, and yet somehow … it works.

I was teetering between four and five stars. It was close to five for its brilliance, humor, unbelievable writing, and — more than anything — for the skill necessary to successfully pull off such a deranged project. It’s ultimately getting a four from me because it didn’t totally captivate me or totally ruin me. Which, ya know, makes sense given that he cuts off 10 separate stories exactly when they get to the good part. I guess that program has some inherent flaws.

It’s bizarre and so well done. If you liked it, read Nabokov’s Pale Fire.