This collection of essays and lectures by Umberto Eco and translated by Martin McLaughlin contains Eco's reflections on several aspects of literature, from the (more or less) tangible influence of Borges on the author's own writing to different approaches to literary criticism to how he himself came to write his novels. Though the essays themselves range in subject matter, all contain the underlying currents of Eco's academic forte, semiotics, that difficult-to-define discipline that drives the author's intellect.
The eighteen essays/lectures concentrate on specific authors and works ("A Reading of the Paradiso", "Wilde: Paradox and Aphorism") as well as on more general topics ("On Symbolism", "Intertextual Irony and Levels of Reading"). As you might gather from the titles, this book is not light reading and reflects not only the density of Eco's prose but also of his ideas. Some essays succeed better than others. "Borges and My Anxiety of Influence" is a fascinating, almost conversational glimpse into the workings of Eco's literary mind while his more direct "How I Write" is deadened by self-analysis. "The Power of Falsehood", perhaps more than any of these essays, exposes the obsessions that gave rise to The Name of the Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, and Baudolino; it delves into the marriage of history and false ideas. Unfortunately, the opening piece, "On Some Functions of Literature," seems almost elemental and not deep enough for someone of Eco's academic caliber. Readers of his novels will recognize in many of these essays the driving force behind the fiction. Intellectuals and literary critics especially will want to make their slow, careful way through much of what Eco has to say.
Although I don't agree with some of Eco's premises, I still found this book intriguing, both for its ideas and the way they are presented. Eco knows his material, and his passion for the subject matter can be infectious. Recommended for serious students of literature and semiotics, but not for the casual reader.
