Janie Cherestal

If on a winter’s night a traveler is one of the most unique books I have read, for it is told through the eyes of us the readers. It reminds me of a book series I used to read when I was much younger called Choose Your Own Adventure, where the readers were the voice of the story and were able to choose the turn of events that took place in each book. However, with Calvino’s novel, the reader does not choose what happens to him or her, but rather, is told what is happening and what he or she is thinking, which I found a little annoying. I was also bothered with the fact that the stories kept changing, and this motif of the novel brought up a few questions-
- Why does Calvino leave the reader hanging with each and every story?
- Are these different stories connected to each other in any way?
- Will the reader ever find the actual story of If on a winter’s night a traveler?