One characteristic is the added depth. For example, in 'The Arabian Nights', the stories within stories can be seen as different layers of wisdom or entertainment. Each sub - story can have its own theme and moral, yet still be part of the larger framework.
One such book is 'The Arabian Nights'. It is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales. Many of the tales within it feature characters telling other stories. For example, Scheherazade tells the king a different story every night to prevent her execution.
There is a sense of nested narratives. In 'One Thousand and One Nights', each story might be a reaction to a situation in the main story or used to teach a lesson. And the stories can be quite diverse, from adventures to moral tales. This makes the book rich and complex as there are different types of stories interacting with each other.
A great book with a story within a story is 'Wuthering Heights'. The main narrative of the love and revenge between Heathcliff and Catherine is filled with the stories that the characters tell each other. For instance, Nelly Dean often relays past events and stories about the families, which are like stories within the main story of the novel. Also, 'The Canterbury Tales' has a story within a story. A group of pilgrims on a journey each tell a story, and these individual tales are the stories within the larger story of the pilgrimage.
One notable feature is the element of surprise. You never know how the inner story will interact with the main one. Also, it can offer different perspectives and themes within a single book.
In a book with a story within a story, there's usually a main or outer story that sets the framework. For example, in 'The Arabian Nights', the outer story is about Scheherazade and the king. Then, the inner stories are told by the characters within that outer story. These inner stories can serve different purposes. They can provide examples, add depth to the characters in the outer story, or just be a form of entertainment within the world of the book. They often have their own beginnings, middles, and ends, but are related to the overall theme or situation of the outer story.
It also allows for more world - building. In 'The Neverending Story', the story within the story helps to expand the fictional world further. As Bastian delves deeper into the book he's reading, we learn more about the magical world, enhancing the adventure aspect.
One characteristic is the element of surprise. For example, in 'The Arabian Nights', you never know what new story Scheherazade will start next, which keeps the reader engaged.
'If on a winter's night a traveler' by Italo Calvino also fits this. It has a main narrative about a reader trying to read a book, but then it constantly weaves in different stories that the reader encounters in their attempt to read the original book.