Obit: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)

Subject: Obit: Umber to eco
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 20 Feb 16 - 06:17 PM

Umber Eco, author of many wonderful novels, "The Name of The Rose " among them, has passed away. he was also well known for his books of philosophy on the arts. his were among some of my favourite writings.

Subject: RE: Obit: Umber to eco
From: michaelr
Date: 20 Feb 16 - 06:19 PM

Sad to hear this. I don't know foucault about pendulums, but I know Eco was one of the 20th century's finest writers.

Subject: RE: Obit: Umberto Eco
From: maeve
Date: 20 Feb 16 - 06:56 PM

Links to features about this thought stretching writer, Umberto Eco:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/20/italian-author-umberto-eco-dies-aged-84

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/20/arts/international/umberto-eco-italian-semiotician-and-best-selling-author-dies-at-84.html?_r=

http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-umberto-eco

Subject: RE: Obit: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 20 Feb 16 - 10:23 PM

I enjoy Umberto's works.

A mother of a Latin teacher's pupil led to him.

This quote regarding his early development in Fascist Italy, he was born 1934, has a peculiar twist...his "world vision: a skepticism and an aversion to rhetoric."

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Obit: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
From: Mrrzy
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 12:46 AM

I've known his name forever and always thought he was dead.

Subject: RE: Obit: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 03:58 AM

Eco is very seductive to those who, like me, have a smattering of knowledge. The romp through mediaeval mythology in Baudolino, the sly Sherlock Holmes references in Name of the Rose, and above all the intricacy of the unreliable narration of multiple intertwined conspiracies in Foucault's Pendulum. How Dan Brown had the brass cheek to publish his pale twaddle after that I don't know.

Subject: RE: Obit: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
From: GUEST,Fan of Bert
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 11:59 AM

I really enjoyed The name of the Rose. I liked his style in Foucault's Pen. but I really struggled with Baudolino.It's a while since I read it but I really wasn't sure what you were supposed to do with the pages of lists or how they fitted with the story. It would be marvellous if someone could enlighten me.
I do remember discovering what a palimpset was. The idea that paper was so precious that you would steal a book for the purpose of erasing the ink and doing your own writing on it thrilled me in this world of information overkill and disposability!

Subject: RE: Obit: Umberto Eco (1932-2016)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 21 Feb 16 - 06:10 PM

Dear F of B,

What a glorious, magnificent, life changing idea.

It shall become my quest..

To retreive, slice and insert pages within the stacks of university library books.

Sincerely,
Garagoyle

Foiled again...the university "stacks" are no longer accessed by humans....robots retrieve your request in under 10 minutes.