内容简介
UmbertoEcopublishedhisfirstnovel,TheNameoftheRose,in1980,whenhewasnearlyfifty.Inthese"confessions,"theauthor,nowinhislateseventies,looksbackonhislongcareerasatheoristandhismorerecentworkasanovelist,andex
作者简介
UmbertoEcopublishedhisfirstnovel,TheNameoftheRose,in1980,whenhewasnearlyfifty.Inthese“confessions,”theauthor,nowinhislateseventies,looksbackonhislongcareerasatheoristandhismorerecentworkasanovelist,andexplorestheirfruitfulconjunction.Hebeginsbyexploringtheboundarybetweenfictionandnonfiction—playfully,seriously,brilliantlyroamingacrossthisfrontier.Goodnonfiction,hebelieves,iscraftedlikeawhodunnit,andaskillednovelistbuildspreciselydetailedworldsthroughobservationandresearch.Takingusonatourofhisowncreativemethod,Ecorecallshowhedesignedhisfictionalrealms.Hebeganwithspecificimages,madechoicesofperiod,location,andvoice,composedstoriesthatwouldappealtobothsophisticatedandpopularreaders.Theblendingoftherealandthefictiveextendstotheinhabitantsofsuchinventedworlds.Whyarewemovedtotearsbyacharacter’splight?InwhatsensedoAnnaKarenina,GregorSamsa,andLeopoldBloom“exist”?Atonceamedievalist,philosopher,andscholarofmodernliterature,Ecoastonishesaboveallwhenheconsidersthepleasuresofenumeration.Heshowsthatthehumblelist,thepotentiallyendlessseries,enablesustoglimpsetheinfiniteandapproachtheineffable.This“youngnovelist”isamasterwhohaswisethingstoimpartabouttheartoffictionandthepowerofwords.
