Remarkably accessible and unfailingly stimulating, this collection of essays exhibits the diversity of interests and the depth of knowledge that made Umberto Eco one of the world's leading writers. From musings on Ptolemy and reflections on the experimental writing of Borges and Joyce, to revelations of his own authorial ambitions and fears, Eco's luminous intelligence is on display throughout.
This volume will appeal to anyone interested in how new light is shed on old masters by a great contemporary mind.
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His most personal book so far...this book speaks loudly and persuasively of the redemptive properties of good writing. This book is both a large statement about literary aesthetics and the elliptical spiritual autobiography of a major novelist. Eco writes with characteristic intelligence, clarity, enthusiasm and charm. He seems incapable of writing a dull paragraph, or a wrong-headed one - Scotland on Sunday
An exciting, ecstatic work of criticism - Guardian
A good deal of intellectual athleticism on display... Eco is a scintillating lecturer, and an elegant journalist... At his most mercurial - Independent
On Literature is a provocative and entertaining collection of sprightly essays on the key texts that have shaped Eco the novelist and critic - The Book People
Umberto Eco has written works of fiction, literary criticism and philosophy. His first novel, The Name of the Rose, was a major international bestseller, and he has since published four other novels - most recently The Prague Cemetery - along with many brilliant books of essays.