Umberto Eco (1932-2016) was an author, translator, and philosopher. One of the best known Italian postmodernists, Eco is largely remembered outside of Italy for his novel The Name of the Rose and his essay Ur-Fascism.
Life[]
Eco was born in the city of Alessandria in Piedmont (a region in the north of Italy). He was born during the rise of fascism in Italy to a former accountant. During World War II, Umberto's parents moved to a smaller village in Piedmont's mountains which was liberated by the Allies at the end of World War II. This was Eco's first exposure to Americans (along with their comic books, which would influence The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana) and knowledge of the Holocaust (which would influence The Prague Cemetery).
Umberto's education was received from the Salesians of Don Bosco. Though his father wished for him to become a lawyer, Umberto instead enrolled in the Univeristy of Turin. His thesis was based on the aesthetics of Thomas Aquinas and led to him receiving a Laurea degree in philosophy.
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Writing style[]
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Notable works[]
Novels[]
- The Name of the Rose - Eco's debut novel, on a murder in an abbey
- Foucault's Pendulum - on three editors searching for a mythical power source
- The Island of the Day Before - on a man stranded on a deserted ship
- Baudolino - on the titular character, a man living in the Fourth Crusade
- The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana - on a book dealer with memory loss
- The Prague Cemetery - on the Holocaust
- Numero Zero - on modern Italy
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See also[]
- Italo Calvino
- Salman Rushdie
- Jorge Luis Borges
Sources[]
- Wikipedia