jakewelch • read

07/17/2025 – 07/28/2025 – I've never read anything quite like this one. Calvino continuously broke the rules weaving a complex conspiracy that moved in and out of the chapters like a web. I appreciated the alternating chapters of short stories and main narrative, although even this rule wasn't always honored. It felt like watching the X-Files and picking up on the "myth arc" vs. the "monster of the week" episodes. The language used throughout was beautiful and thought provoking–the short stories explored the deepest of sensations and the most subtle of experiences forming brilliant metaphors of life and they always built towards a genius (purposely) sudden ending. I loved the short story chapters, reading them made the book go by quickly for me. The reason I deducted a star was for the main narrative chapters, which I found to be more of a slog. I appreciated their insanity in challenging the way narrative fiction is written and understood, and I liked how they tied the stories all together in the end. I didn't even mind how speculative and strange the story became in the end. I suppose what I disliked is something I dislike in most modern/post-modern novels. The experimental writing left me feeling empty in the end. I didn't care about any of the characters, certain plot points were left unresolved, and I felt like the points Calvino was trying to make became a replacement for a solid, interesting story. By the end I was ready for it to be over, and I guess that's a bit of a shame. Still, it was a brilliant book and a great intro to Calvino's work. I imagine fans of this type of story telling wouldn't have the same complaints as me and would love this. I might try reading more of him sooner than later. 4/5 stars