Saturday, June 9, 2012

Italo Calvino - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

Welcome back.  Tomorrow we'll discuss Pale Fire--I hope everyone is enjoying it in some capacity.  I'm oscillating between rapturous epiphany and crushing bamboozlement as well as struggling with a lack of time to devote to it.  Unfortunately, I'll have to take off a bit early from the discussion, so hopefully that won't put a damper on anything.

For next month, let's try some Calvino.  I've read four or five of his works and can definitely vouch for the man, but the present selection, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, is one I haven't read.  Seems like his works tend to fall into either more "standard" charcter-driven narratives (The Watcher) or more Borges-esque examinations of metaphysics and the nature of reality (T-Zero).  Kind of sounds like this one combines these elements... but I can't say for sure.  Discussion is at 7 PM on July 8th at Books Inc, 2251 Chestnut St, SF (the usual spot).


If on a Winter's Night a Traveler turns out to be not one novel but ten, each with a different plot, style, ambience, and author, and each interrupted at a moment of suspense. Together they form a labyrinth of literatures, known and unknown, alive and extinct, through which two readers, a male and a female, pursue both the story lines that intrigue them and one another.
--from http://www.booksinc.net/book/9780156439619
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6 comments:

  1. VincentJune 10, 2012 at 9:36 AM

    Great choice, Greg, for July.

    As for tonight, I guess we'll find out whether folks think Nabokov's "play" in Pale Fire strikes one as too beyond the pale and whether the novel pales in comparison to his other works.

    Best,
    Vincent

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  2. AnonymousJuly 6, 2012 at 8:10 PM

    Hi Greg,

    There's a good chance I won't be able to make it to the book club meeting this Sunday. My schedule's a bit up in the air the rest of the summer, so I might also not be able to join in August. I've enjoyed your book selections, and hope to be able to take part in another discussion soon.

    Best,
    Vincent

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    Replies
    1. GregJuly 7, 2012 at 3:38 PM

      That's ok! Thanks for the note--I look forward to the next time you can join us.
      Greg

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    2. AnonymousJuly 7, 2012 at 4:24 PM

      Hey Vincent--

      Sounds like scheduling may be a problem, but I was wondering if you still want to do the Ulysses book club that you had proposed... We do have a few people who have expressed interest, and we were thinking about Monday nights in September-October-November, but nothing is decided yet.

      Tom
      (from the Books Inc. Classics I Forgot to Read Book Club)

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJuly 7, 2012 at 5:17 PM

    Hi Tom,

    I'm definitely still interested. However, Monday nights won't work for me because of conflict with a class I'll be taking. Are Tuesdays and Thursdays (not the first Thursday of the month though) some of the other possibilities? Please let me know. For some reason, I don't consistently receive via e-mail comments posted on the blog. Should I call the store for your business e-mail so that I can forward mine and keep abreast of future development?

    Thanks,
    Vincent

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  4. AnonymousJuly 24, 2012 at 6:33 PM

    Hi Vincent--

    Sorry for the slow response! Yes, Tuesdays and Thursdays are possible... Due to other store events scheduled, Thursdays look better as of now. Tentatively--very tentatively--how about second or third Thursday? (It may not be possible to have all three meetings on the exact same day of the month.)

    Definitely, if you get a chance, call the store for my email.

    Thanks!

    Tom

    ReplyDelete

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