Italo Calvino, If on a winter’s night a traveler, trans. William Weaver (New York: Harcourt, 1981).
The “you” of this passage is a character in the novel, a reader who is now reading On the carpet of leaves illuminated by the moon by Takakumi Ikoka. That novel is one of ten (imaginary) novels that the reader in/of this novel encounters, each in the form of a few pages.
Postmodern play aside, this passage captures what flying always feels like to me: it’s not being anywhere.
Also from this novel
The formula : Novels and theories : “A fairly precise notion of the book”
[I am not now flying.]
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Travel by plane and book
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It's funny... I read one of Calvino's books while on such a flight once. Kind of a meta experience, I guess. It wasn't this book, though.
ReplyDeleteThat would've broken the meta speed barrier, or ceiling, or something.
ReplyDeleteI have been surprised to see multiple copies of this book on shelves in two bookstores recently. It must still sell well.
Just stumbled across this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001qt49
Oh my! Thanks, Jim.
ReplyDelete