I think this is my favourite book we’ve read so far this semester. I felt very present, in the moment, and aware of myself in a way that made me want to find the joy in smaller moments this week. Calvino discussed reading and life in general in a way that emphasized romanticizing the experience and finding importance in small moments. It did feel a bit whiplash-y at times, but more often than not, I found it very enjoyable to just go along for the ride.
That being said, I think every single pronoun in this book confused me. I felt constantly lost as to whether they were speaking directly to me or to someone else, or if ‘I’ was the author or a character of a book. It was mentioned later on that the author intended it that way, that “the you that was shifted to the Other Reader can, at any sentence, be addressed to you again.” (pg. 147) Whether I interpreted ‘you’ as myself or the Other Reader, or whether I interpreted ‘I’ as the author or a character was pretty random, which I think is what Calvino intended. The way that we were a part of the experience was unique, and I felt a sense of unity with other readers when the novel happened to describe a habit of mine or something I was doing in the moment.
I like that we only got the beginning of each story, and I appreciated how they were interwoven as it became clear that they were all actually interconnected, and not just through a mistake of the publishing house. The word incipit was new to me, but this book was a collection of incipits in a rather recursive way; a book about the main character trying to find the rest of the beginnings. At the same time, the plot of the novel itself is also continually interrupted in such a way that each and every chapter feels like a new beginning in some form.
The library goers’ discussion on the ways they prefer to enjoy books was a fitting conclusion to a book about reading, that there are a thousand different ways people consume literature. That being said, the way Lotaria talked about reading/understanding books is DEFINITELY wrong: I don’t think it’s at all possible to get everything you need out of a book from the most repeated words, and I don’t necessarily think the most common words are representative of any sort of meaning: they may tell you some common points of the book, but the message could be found in a completely random sentence. The ending completed what felt like organized chaos in a very neat and concise way, and tied together all 10 stories and the story of the main character perfectly.
I’m curious what your thoughts were on the use of personal pronouns in this novel: how did you tend to interpret them, and did it ever create a sense of feeling a bit lost?
“…and I felt a sense of unity with other readers when the novel happened to describe a habit of mine or something I was doing in the moment.” There’s quite a bit in the novel(s) about practices and habits, as you mention (the lecture also emphasizes this). What’s also striking is the loss of the specificity of the “I as reader.” Perhaps that “I” is confusing because we are a set of practices that we tend to see as unitary, as a narrative line that goes from beginning to end… when in reality we are jumping between stories.
Hi Emilia, I liked how you talked about romanticizing reading because I actually felt that too, especially in the beginning when it tells you to sit down and focus. It’s like reading this book makes you feel like the main character lol. About your question with the pronouns, I was confused too. I never fully knew if “you” was supposed to be me, the Reader as a character, or even the other reader. I think that blur is intentional, like Calvino wants us to lose that clear boundary between ourselves and the story. Sometimes that made it feel cool and immersive, but other times it just made me feel lost.
— Laura
Hey Emilia!! This has also been one of, if not my favourite read for this class so far!! The pronouns for this book were a bit confusing, but I do feel like I got the hang of things the further we went. I think what helped me was that I tried to combine myself with the Reader in the sense that I put myself in his shoes. I also agree Lotaria’s view on reading is completely wrong. Great post :))
“That being said, the way Lotaria talked about reading/understanding books is DEFINITELY wrong”
I totally agree! How can you “romanticise reading” if you’re not gonna read LOL. And the AI discussion that we had in class today really put into perspective how relevent this book is today, and how absurd ChatGPT is. It’s like instead of watching a movie, you ask your friend to spoil everything. You never get to make a original thought, and cannot immerse yourself in the world that the author made. Thank you so much for your blog post, it was great!