The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (original 2004; udgave 2006)

Fair - not the best Eco novel I've read by a long shot, but also not the worst. The last third feels like a massive letdown/hasty wrap-up after the first two really excellent parts. ( )

Alzheimer

A sixty-year-old antique book seller wakes up from a coma to find that he has forgotten everything about his life but can remember all common knowledge (book plots, driving). He tries to remember through reading everything that may have had a connection with his previous life, turning the middle section of the book into a cultural studies of Italy in the 1930s-50s - and then the book ends with him finding his memories in some religious comic book experience -- all rather strange.

Ceuta - Mayo/2005

I approached this one with some trepidation. My struggles with The Name of the Rose had me a little worried I would struggle with this one, too. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a story that started out sharp and witty with accessible prose. Sadly, I found the story gets bogged down in the middle as Yambo is fixated on retrieving his childhood memories of growing up in Fascist Italy. For me, the best part of this story is the first part where we get to experience with Yambo everything from learning once again what tea is ("drink it slowly, don't gulp it") and other common place experiences that are suddenly new due to Yambo's episodic memory loss. Also, in the first part is some wonderful witticism and word play dialogue between Yambo and his wife (who is a psychologist - or psychiatrist - and seems grounded in helping Yambo deal with his memory loss). The extensive references to popular culture, and comic books in particular, reminded me a lot of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a book I appreciated for its literary merits but failed to be "wowed" by it as a reader. Same experience with this book: I can appreciate Eco's skill as a writer and a storyteller, but by the end I was quite happy to be finished and move on to something else. I think my lack of enjoyment is in part due to the abundant use of intertextuality (yes, I had to look this up), turning the story into more than just a story when all I want to do is read a story, if that makes any sense.

Overall, I have not completely given up on Eco - I did finish this one, so that is something! - so at some point I will either re-attempt [The Name of the Rose] or tackle something different of his, but not right away. ( )