Umberto Eco is one of those awfully clever writers, I keep reading. So, I thought I should try one of his books sometime. I fear his novels, as the last book I heard praised for its intellectual qualities and densely interwoven what-not was Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow", which I absolutely loathed.
As such, I thought I'd start with something lighter. This book is effectively a collection of little thoughts and meanderings. It's all very clever, although it doesn't seem massively deep (maybe I'm just missing the complex layering of concepts). Eco comes across as someone who could talk about semiotics with a straight face, but is equally happy taking the mickey out of postmodernism. Maybe I'll risk one of his novels (with accompanying idiot's guide).
Posted 2004-04-19.