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Italo Calvino: A traveller in a world of uncertainty

119 points by lermontov

by kelseyfrog

3 subcomments

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller gives the reader the impression that there must be a system at play and gives up some of its secrets easily. However, there remains a persistent feeling, after reading each section, that there are other connections - threads of deliberate meaning - between them all that slip through your fingers as you desperately try to clutch more and more fragments passing by.
It's one of my favorite books precisely because it generates this feeling and led me to Perec's Life: A User's Manual among other fantastic works.

by dang

0 subcomment

by simonsarris

2 subcomments

As a fan of Calvino I will say that If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller is somewhat more enjoyable after you've read a bunch of other Calvino, since it has a somewhat cheeky, self-referential feel and the more you sympathize with the author the more you may like it.
Numbers in the Dark is very good as a place to start.

by sgwizdak

2 subcomments

Great article - "Invisible Cities" was my introduction to his work and remains a favorite.

by OhMeadhbh

0 subcomment

Reminds me of this linked in profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julien-de-foucauld-0b1323287/

by Rant423

0 subcomment

recommendations:
* Our Ancestors (The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees, The Nonexistent Knight)
* The Complete Cosmicomics (Cosmicomics, t zero, + others)
* Invisible Cities
* If on a winter's night a traveler

by MrBuddyCasino

0 subcomment

Only read Path To The Spider‘s Nest so far, had no trouble finishing it. Rare these days. Recommend!

by xhevahir

0 subcomment

I've never been able to get into Calvino. Those works of his that I've read mostly felt like games and puzzles, sterile mental exercises, or inconsequential fantasy.