If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

In this novel about novels, the power of the written word is evident. Words symbolize the world’s complexity. They can be misunderstood, forgotten, misheard, mistranslated, or lost, all of which can have a devastating effect on the characters. The power of the written word is so evident that the Reader is seduced and obsessed, feeling a compelling urge to finish any novel that he starts. The written word propels the Reader through the novel, from one book to another, from one absurd situation to the next. This movement through literary and physical space represents the inherent power of the written word, tempting the Reader with various potential ways to understand the world but refusing to allow him to understand these complex understandings in a complete way. The Reader is fascinated by the written word because he’s so confused by the actual world. The further he progresses through the text, the more complicated, paranoid, and absurd his reality becomes. He’s sent on secret missions and involved in international conspiracies, all because of his desire to finish a book. He needs to finish the book, just as he needs to understand the world’s complexity; the written word neatly sums up these desires, which is the key to the Reader’s understanding and his catharsis.