If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller

About If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller

If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller is a celebrated novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. It first appeared in Italy in 1979 under the title Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore, and the English translation by William Weaver followed in 1981. The book is an unusual treat for anyone who loves reading itself: it is a story about a reader, written to you, in which every attempt to settle into a new book is interrupted. If you are looking for a modern classic that plays with the idea of what a novel can be, this Traveller is one of the most inventive you will find. For the publisher, translator and page count of the copy in stock, please message us on WhatsApp at 9906523492 for details of the copy in stock.

How the novel is built

Few novels are as playfully constructed. The odd-numbered chapters speak to you directly, in the second person, and follow a reader who keeps trying to reach the next part of the book he has bought. Along the way the reader meets a woman called Ludmilla, who is also a passionate reader. The even-numbered chapters are the openings of ten different novels, each in its own style and genre, and each one breaks off just when the plot begins to grip. The frame story and the ten openings echo one another, so that ideas from one reappear in the next. In total the book is arranged in twenty-two numbered passages.

Themes of this Traveller

• The pleasure and the frustration of reading, and what it means to be an ideal reader
• The relationship between fiction and real life
• Whether meaning is fixed by the author or found by the reader
• Originality in writing, and what an author really owns
• The way different genres create very different moods and expectations

We have kept this description free of spoilers on purpose. The joy of the book lies in following the reader from one interrupted story to the next, so discover it for yourself.

About the author Italo Calvino

Italo Calvino was one of the best-known Italian authors of the twentieth century. He published his first novel, The Path to the Nest of Spiders, in 1947, and later wrote fantastical works such as the trilogy collected as Our Ancestors, along with Cosmicomics and Invisible Cities. In the review of this book in the London Review of Books, Salman Rushdie called it Calvino’s most complicated and most joyful work and praised its humour and invention. For many readers this is the first Calvino they pick up, and it remains the most talked-about.

Why readers still return to it

Postmodern fiction has a reputation for being cold or hard to enter, but this novel is warm, funny and quick on its feet. Each opening is a small gift: you may find a thriller, a love story, a tale of mystery, each with its own voice, and the pull of wanting to read on is exactly what the book is about. It is also a good doorway into world literature in translation, because it shows how much pleasure a reader can take from the form of a story and not only its plot.

Who should read this book

• Students and teachers of English and comparative literature
• Readers who enjoy clever, experimental and playful storytelling
• Book lovers who like novels about books and reading
• Anyone building a shelf of modern classics in translation
• Gift buyers looking for a thoughtful present for a keen reader

How to enjoy the novel

Do not expect ten complete stories. Read each opening for its mood and its voice, and let the frame chapters carry you along. It helps to read a few chapters in one sitting, since the echoes between chapters are easier to notice that way. Keep a pencil nearby and note the genre of each opening; this makes a rewarding exercise for a reading group or a literature class. If you finish and want more, move on to Calvino’s other works.

Edition details

Author: Italo Calvino. Language: English, in the translation by William Weaver. Format: paperback. For the publisher, year and page count of the copy in stock, please message us on WhatsApp at 9906523492 for details of the copy in stock. Same-day dispatch from Srinagar. Delivery takes about 1 day in Srinagar and 3 to 10 days across the rest of India.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote this Traveller? Italo Calvino, first published in Italian in 1979.

Who translated it into English? William Weaver’s English translation appeared in 1981.

Is it a traditional story? No. It mixes a second-person frame story with the openings of ten different novels.

Does the description reveal the ending? No, it only describes the structure and themes.

How quickly will it reach me? We dispatch the same day from Srinagar. Delivery is about 1 day in Srinagar and 3 to 10 days across the rest of India.

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