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If on a Winter's Night a Traveller

By Italo Calvino
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino begins with you, the Reader, attempting to enjoy the novel mentioned in the title, only to discover that each chapter is a different story interrupted just as it begins to unfold. The book cleverly plays with perspective, shifting between various narratives and your quest to find the story's conclusion, effectively blurring the lines between fiction and reality in a whimsical exploration of storytelling.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2600
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate innovative storytelling, as it uniquely intertwines multiple narratives where each chapter begins a new story. Its metafictional approach, addressing the reader directly, offers a playful and thought-provoking exploration of the act of reading itself. If you are intrigued by a journey through different literary styles and an introspective look at the relationship between a reader and a text, this book will captivate you.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

You go into a bookshop and buy If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino. You try to track down the original book you were reading but end up with a different narrative again. This remarkable novel leads you through many different books including a detective adventure, a romance, a satire, an erotic story, a diary and a quest.

'A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say' - Italo Calvino

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Breathtakingly inventive – David Mitchell

A masterwork by the incomparable, genre-defying, wondrous Italo Calvino.

You go into a bookshop and buy If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino. You like it. But there is a printer's error in your copy. You take it back to the shop and get a replacement. But the replacement seems to be a totally different story. You try to track down the original book you were reading but end up with a different narrative again.

This remarkable novel leads you through many different books including a detective adventure, a romance, a satire, an erotic story, a diary, and a quest. But the real hero of them all is you, the reader.

Breathtakingly inventive – David Mitchell

'A writer of dizzying ambition and variety, each of his stories is a fresh adventure into the possibilities of fiction' – Guardian

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveller is celebrated for its ingenious and breathtakingly inventive narrative style. The book is praised for its clever parody of typical best-sellers, making it an ideal companion for imaginative armchair travel. Calvino's writing is described as simultaneously enlightening and entertaining, offering a fresh perspective while infusing humour and insight.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099430896

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 20 February 1992

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by William Weaver

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 194g

Pages: 272

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Fiction General Fiction Humour In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books Italo Calvino Literary Fiction New Release Fiction New Zealand's Best Selling Books Penguin Books

About the Author

Italo Calvino (Author) Italo Calvino was born in Cuba in 1923 and grew up in Italy. He was an essayist and journalist and a member of the editorial staff of Einaudi in Turin. One of the most respected writers of the twentieth century, his best-known works of fiction include Invisible Cities, If on a Winter's Night a Traveller, Marcovaldo and Mr Palomar. In 1973 he won the prestigious Premio Feltrinelli. He died in 1985. A collection of Calvino's posthumous personal writings, The Hermit in Paris, was published in 2003. William Weaver (Translator) William Weaver has translated Umberto Eco, Italo Svevo, Primo Levi, Italo Calvino and Roberto Calasso, among others. He is a professor at Bard College.

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