“I’m beginning to read Italo Calvino’s new novel!” (3)
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller was definitely a novel with a different story structure. It started with a man suggesting a perfect posture to read a book, and started the story. However, the story suddenly cut off — literally, cut off — as the book was mistakenly published. He, or rather, you visited the bookstore to complain the publishing error of the book.
First impression — I felt like I was fooled by the author. I was expecting the proper story that has a proper structure, like the quintessential books we all know and the book we have read in this class. But at the point where he suddenly cut off the story [If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller], I felt the same emotion “You” felt — frustration and annoyance. Where is the story? Why did he cut off the story? What game is he playing with me?
After the short moment to feel the frustration, I started to question myself “what is a ‘quintessential’ story?”
“You have now read about thirty pages and you’re becoming caught up in the story.” (25)
“The novel you are reading wants to present to you a corporeal world, thick, detailed.” (42)
The story is written in second person point of view (“You”). It feels like I, as a reader, am being directed to where I should be in the book. In other words, I am, you are, we are the main character of the story, no matter who you are. It helps for me to immerse more to the journey of “you” searching for the story.
At the same time, I was doubting myself on my first impression. It is because, if I was in my own frame of typical story structure, this book was the perfect story of confuting my stereotype. Is it necessary to follow the typical story structure made by the book and its author? Although the story seems like drawing the journey of a man searching for the story of the Polish book, it is talking about “you”. In other words, again, “you” are the main character of this story, or rather, you are the main role of this journey!
“If on a winter’s night a traveler, 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 intersect, on the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon around an empty grave—What story down there awaits its end? —he asks, anxious to hear the story.” (258)
If Italo is trying to draw the different side of the story, he did the successful job. A story within a book is just a portrait of short period of someone’s life, but it’s not the end of the life. In other words, we never know what’s in the past and what’s in the future; we merely need to rely on the author’s description. However, the life is not a book, and it never ends like the ending of the book. We still have to carry on even if the story ends, and we never know what awaits. And that’s the reason we feel “anxious”.
“Just a moment, I’ve almost finished If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino.” (260)
Now, our story comes an end, and we still have to carry on our lives. How was your story so far, and what story down there awaits its end? Please let me know on the comments (if you wish!)
Hi Steve!
I think what makes this story so intriguing is that even though it is technically over, throughout the book, a whole lot of themes around authorship, language, and gender are introduced that I think only extends this story because of the discussions we are able to have around these topics!
– Ava Hamid-Nejad
I don’t know if you like Rick and Morty, but there is a specific episode in which I remember something similar happened: there are several beginnings of disparate and contradictory stories although in the end they seem to make sense, despite the differences between them. I think Calvino is an author with a good sense of humor who tells us very serious things. For example, he also makes us think about error and chance, and the lack of a clear teleology of human actions. (Again, a bit like R&M!)