Umberto Eco has died :(

[Kyriakos]

The italian writer, Umberto Eco, known for his novels (including Foucault's Pendulum and The name of the Rose) has died. RIP.

I never read his works apart from a few chapters of the Pendulum, but he was by all means well-regarded and deemed as the main contemporary author of Europe.

He never received the nobel prize.

(although Eco did not like the adaptation of his novel, the movie remains very atmospheric for what it was)


Link to video.

 

[Dachs]

He may have been the most brilliant Superman fanboy of all time. The world is worse for his passing.

 

[Takhisis]

I haven't read his novels, but I've read him on semiotics, communications and so on. What a mind.

 

[Kyriakos]

Apparently he was a great admirer of Borges. Although from the first few chapters of the Pendulum i got the impression he isn't very close stylistically to Borges (then again it is not like the latter would ever write a story spanning hundreds of pages ).

 

[abradley]

Read 'Name of the rose'

RIP

 

[Zkribbler]

I could have sworn I read something by him, but I can neither specifically remember it or find anything on Amazon that rings a bell.

I did see the movie "In the Name of the Rose." It's a bold work. Too bad they drop a sex scene right in the middle of it, making it unfit for family viewing.


Harper Lee is now also gone. To Kill a Mockingbird is both a great book and a great movie.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

I feel so sad. He was my favorite writer after Borges, and have read many (if not all) of his novels. The Name of the Rose being the best novel i have read.

Apparently he was a great admirer of Borges. Although from the first few chapters of the Pendulum i got the impression he isn't very close stylistically to Borges (then again it is not like the latter would ever write a story spanning hundreds of pages ).

Yeah, i see Eco as Borges on ritalin. Venerable Jorge btw was no other that Jorge Luis Borges in customes. A funny and wicked homage.

 

[Kyriakos]

Connery still was far more fun than anyone resembling Borges in attitude or looks

 

[REDY]

Well at least ignorant reader like me get tips for other writers like Eco. I have never heard about Borges. I realy loved Name of Rose read also Foucalt´s Pendulum. Some passages there were hard to me.

 

[Atticus]

He was truly an extraordinary writer. I know no other fiction writer who's as learned and informative. I had hoped he'd live and keep on writing until a substitute emerges.

 

[Kyriakos]

On the bright side, maybe now a movie adaptation of Foucault's Pendulum can happen (Eco refused this after being so dissapointed with the adaptation of Name of the Rose).

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Well at least ignorant reader like me get tips for other writers like Eco. I have never heard about Borges. I realy loved Name of Rose read also Foucalt´s Pendulum. Some passages there were hard to me.

You should read Borges then. It is pretty easy since he writed short stories. His cuentos are so awesome that i usually get the impression i am learning weird strange secrets that few people in the world knows, even if i know everything is fiction. He was that good. I have only experimented a so powerful imagination boost reading "The Golem" by Gustav Meyrink.

 

[Atticus]

Movie version of Foucault's Pendulum would work even worse than Name of the Rose which really wasn't that bad as a movie, but in a different way than the novel.

And as to the OP mention about Nobel, I don't believe he was ever even considered, since his novels weren't as "literary" as required. They're more like Sherlock Holmeses, good entertainment, but unique due to the author's vast knowledge and openness to thought games. Although, maybe he could have earned the Nobel as a nod for being such a good guy (like Russell and Sartre did).

Venerable Jorge btw was no other that Jorge Luis Borges in customes. A funny and wicked homage.

He was the blind quy, right? I never came to even think of that.

Spoiler :

It explains the maze though.

Aside of his novels, one thing worth of mention is his book on how to write a thesis. It's entertaining and exciting even if you're not writing one.

 

[ParkCungHee]

It's weird. I ordered focualt's pendulum this week.

 

[Atticus]

Maybe that got him exhausted. It's a hefty book to write.

 

[innonimatu]

Sad. He has not just a fine writer but also a great academic worried about society, one that tried to reach people with his ideas and make a difference in the world.

From his fiction I very much liked The name of the Rose and Baudolino, not so much Foucault's Pendulum.

 

[Zkribbler]

I just check my Amazon account. I have seven (7) books on their way here now. That's enough for now. Sorry, Umberto.