Calvino

[glasser]

Um, arguably "If on a winter's night a traveler" is exactly the book you're looking for, Ken.

[Ken Jennings]

Ha, I hadn't thought of that angle. Yeah, If on... is great too.

[polarea]

am I missing something here?

[rkd]

I'm guessing that's in reference to the last sentence of Ken's blog entry from 8/20 ... "Maybe someone should write a novel in which Italo Calvino and Jorge Luis Borges sit on a veranda somewhere, trading concepts for fantastic, ephemeral, half-remembered stories they wanted to write to but never did...[.]"

I didn't get far enough in the book to know whether that's apt (or half-apt?), but it's an interesting one. Here's the opening paragraph of Chapter One:

"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, 'No, I don't want to watch TV!' Raise your voice--they won't hear you otherwise--'I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!' Maybe they haven't heard you with all that racket; speak louder, yell: 'I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!' Or if you prefer, don't say anything; just hope they'll leave you alone."

Yup. The next paragraph is about finding a comfortable position in which to read the book. Chapters like this one alternate with chapters than contain the main thread of the novel, which themselves are at times and to some degree about reading the story.

--Raj Dhuwalia

[rwk]

Ken,

Today's post about Invisible Cities (which sounds fascinating) reminded me of a brief conversation we had between Jeopardy rounds about Jan Potocki's Manuscript Found at Saragossa, which is, I think, of a broadly similar spirit. Did you ever get a chance to read it and, if so, what did you think?

You should also check out Eco's Baudolino, if you haven't already. After being fairly disappointed by Island of the Day Before, I was really bowled over by Eco's riff on the Prester John legend.

Great blog, BTW, and congratulations on Brainiac.

Rob Kimbro

[Ken Jennings]

Ken,

Today's post about Invisible Cities (which sounds fascinating) reminded me of a brief conversation we had between Jeopardy rounds about Jan Potocki's Manuscript Found at Saragossa, which is, I think, of a broadly similar spirit. Did you ever get a chance to read it and, if so, what did you think?

You should also check out Eco's Baudolino, if you haven't already. After being fairly disappointed by Island of the Day Before, I was really bowled over by Eco's riff on the Prester John legend.

Great blog, BTW, and congratulations on Brainiac.

Rob Kimbro

Hey Rob! I did read Saragossa, on a trip to DC last year...I meant to email you to thank you for recommending it, so sorry if I forgot to do that.

I was amazed at how modern it feels for an 18th-century novel. I was also amazed that--if I recall right--you had adapted it into a play?! That was all in the back of my mind as I read the book: "How on earth would you go about adapting this for the stage?" I was stumped.

Thanks for recommending Baudolino...with all the flying I'll be doing next month, I'll need some book recommendations.

[maitresse]

Ken,

Perhaps Calvino gave up on his collection of Casanova vignettes because he realized such a collection already existed... written by Casanova himself? Check out his Memoires de ma vie. Each chapter is a different ladylove. and some aren't ladies at all... the writing is extremely high-flying, and I daresay not even Calvino could trump the original.

Cheers
Lauren

[rwk]

Also worth a look are Rafael Sabatini's Casanova short stories. I haven't read the originals, so I don't know how they stack up to Casanova's own words, but they are entertaining.