History Creator / UmbertoEco

Because of his background, his works tend to avoid SmallReferencePools and ViewersAreMorons--only to go right through to the other side, invoking ViewersAreGeniuses instead. His novels abound in [[BilingualBonus language games]], [[ShownTheirWork meticulously researched]] history and more than a little philosophizing. Basically, he's the polar opposite of Creator/DanBrown: a knowledgeable and skillful writer whose fiction is well researched, and full of genuine historical, narrative, and cultural intrigue, but who never [[DanBrowned pretends that his novels are anything more]] than stimulating intellectual entertainment. In fact, he once humorously mused, in [[http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten The Paris Review]] that Dan Brown might as well have stepped out the pages of his book ''Foucault's Pendulum''.

Because of his background, his works tend to avoid SmallReferencePools and ViewersAreMorons--only to go right through to the other side, invoking ViewersAreGeniuses instead. His novels abound in [[BilingualBonus language games]], [[ShownTheirWork meticulously researched]] history and more than a little philosophizing. Basically, he's the polar opposite of Creator/DanBrown: a knowledgeable and skillful writer whose fiction is well researched, and full of genuine historical, narrative, and cultural intrigue, but who never [[DanBrowned pretends that his novels are anything more]] than stimulating intellectual entertainment. In fact, he once mused, humorously, in [[http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten The Paris Review]] that Dan Brown might as well have stepped out the pages of his book ''Foucault's Pendulum''.

* ''Why Read The Classics'', an book by book discussion on many of WesternCanon's works.

* ShoutOut: Lots in The Mysterious Flame due to Yambo's illness

* {{Postmodernism}}: In the critical, academic sense

* SophisticatedAsHell: Occasional examples are found in his non-fiction works
* TakeThat: the one at the end of ''Baudolino'' stands out

* {{Irony}}: He has a good explanation in his comment for ''TheNameOfTheRose''. Nowadays, a man who loves a well-read woman can't simply tell her "I love you more than my life", because he knows (and she knows, and [[IKnowYouKnow he knows she knows, and she knows he knows she knows...]]) that these words have been overused by Liala (Italian author of SillyLoveNovels). That's why he'll say instead: "As Liala would say, 'I love you more than my life'." It's ironic because we live in times where innocence has been lost, but it's still a way to talk about love.

* ViewersAreGeniuses: To give some illustration of the ''sheer magnitude'' of the permeation of this trope through his fiction, Foucault's Pendulum requires at least a modest familiarity with the conception of God in Kabbalah in order to understand the book's narrative arrangement; and though Kabbalah is hardly the most obscure of topics, - and certainly not the most obscure form of knowledge required to understand Foucault's Pendulum - this novel requires substantial reading into a major world mystic/faith tradition ''merely to understand its chapter layout''.

* TheLongitudeProblem: In ''The Island of the Day Before''.

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician (semiotics: the study of signs and signification[[note]]If Creator/DanBrown's fictional discipline of "symbology" were real, it would fall within the field of semiotics.[[/note]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

Because of his background, his works tend to avoid SmallReferencePools and ViewersAreMorons - only to go right through to the other side, invoking ViewersAreGeniuses instead. His novels abound in [[BilingualBonus language games]], [[ShownTheirWork meticulously researched]] history and more than a little philosophising. Basically, he's the polar opposite of DanBrown: a knowledgeable and skilful writer whose fiction is well researched, and full of genuine historical, narrative, and cultural intrigue, but who never [[DanBrowned pretends that his novels are anything more]] than stimulating intellectual entertainment. In fact, he once mused, humorously, in [[http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten The Paris Review]] that DanBrown might as well have stepped out the pages of his book ''Foucault's Pendulum''.

He listed {{Western}} tropes in a 1975 comic essay "How to Play Indians". He also wrote an essay in 1984 about tropes called "Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage", which ends with what might as well have been to a reference to TVTropes, describing a possible future in which [[ViewersAreGeniuses viewers and artists]] are all equally aware of the universe of tropes and spend their time recognising them and using them to communicate.[[labelnote:*]]Après nous, le déluge.[[/labelnote]]

* DownerEnding: Yambo [[spoiler: finds the First Folio - then ''dies''.]]

** An excellent recent example of his usage of this trope in his fiction would be his novel ''The Prague Cemetary'', in which an early scene calls for the antisemitic VillainProtagonist Simonini to converse with a Jewish psychiatrist during his time in Paris. Upon realising that Simonini's time in Paris coincided with a period of SigmundFreud's life spent in Paris, he researched the restaurants and cafes Freud frequented at this time to provide his characters with a plausible meeting place.

* NoNameGiven: The Archpoet in ''Baudolino'', because he's based on a historical character whose name is unknkown.

* UnreliableNarrator: By the end of ''Literature/FoucaultsPendulum'', Casaubon doubts his own sanity, and questions how much is true of what he had seen. In ''Baudolino'', the protagonist admits that he's a great liar and decieved many people, so the veracity of his story also can be questioned, especially since it gets more and more outlandish as it progresses.

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician (semiotics: the study of signs and signification[[labelnote:*]] If Dan Brown's fictional discipline of "symbology" were real, it would fall within the field of semiotics.[[/labelnote]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

* InternationalDateLine: Plays a big role in ''The Island of the Day Before'', where the protagonist believes he is stuck near one side of it.

* WordSaladTitle: Prefers titles of this nature

* ''TheMysteriousFlameOfQueenLoana''

* ''The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana''

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician (semiotics: the study of signs and signification[[hottip:*: If Dan Brown's fictional discipline of "symbology" were real, it would fall within the field of semiotics.]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

He listed {{Western}} tropes in a 1975 comic essay "How to Play Indians". He also wrote an essay in 1984 about tropes called "Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage", which ends with what might as well have been to a reference to TVTropes, describing a possible future in which [[ViewersAreGeniuses viewers and artists]] are all equally aware of the universe of tropes and spend their time recognising them and using them to communicate.[[hottip:*:Après nous, le déluge.]]

* DeathOfTheAuthor: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with often,]] [[ZigZagged on numerous levels.]] In his critical work, he is known for pioneering the related idea of the "open work" or "opera aperta", but also analyses the author's role in ''The Limits of Interpretation''.

He listed {{Western}} tropes in a 1975 comic essay [[http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/indians.html "How to Play Indians"]]. He also wrote an essay in 1984 about tropes called "Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage", which ends with what might as well have been to a reference to TVTropes, describing a possible future in which [[ViewersAreGeniuses viewers and artists]] are all equally aware of the universe of tropes and spend their time recognising them and using them to communicate.[[hottip:*:Après nous, le déluge.]]

Because of his background, his works tend to avoid SmallReferencePools and ViewersAreMorons - only to go right through to the other side, invoking ViewersAreGeniuses instead. His novels abound in [[BilingualBonus language games]], [[ShownTheirWork meticulously researched]] history and more than a little philosophising. Basically, he's the polar opposite of [[DanBrowned Dan Brown]]: a knowledgeable and skilful writer whose fiction is well researched, and full of genuine historical, narrative, and cultural intrigue, but who never pretends that his novels are anything more than stimulating intellectual entertainment. In fact, he once mused, humorously, in [[http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten The Paris Review]] that DanBrown might as well have stepped out the pages of his book ''Foucault's Pendulum''.

* ''ThePragueCemetery''

* PretenderDiss: When asked if he considers DanBrown his literary heir, he once responded that the difference is that while he himself writes ''about'' conspiracy theories, DanBrown simply repeats them - "as such, he's probably not my son, but maybe my bastard."

** An excellent recent example of his usage of this trope in his fiction would be his novel ''The Prague Cemetary'', in which an early scene calls for the VillainProtagonist Simonini to converse with a Jewish psychiatrist during his time in Paris. Upon realising that Simonini's time in Paris coincided with a period of SigmundFreud's life spent in Paris, he researched the restaurants and cafes Freud frequented at this time to provide his characters with a plausible meeting place.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: His works feature real historical figures (sometimes lesser-known ones), like Bernard Gui, Ubertino of Casale and Michael of Cesena in ''The Name of the Rose'', and Frederick Barbarossa, Niketas Choniates, Robert de Boron or Otto of Freising in ''Baudolino''.

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician (semiotics: the study of signs and signification[[hottip:*: If Dan Brown's fictional discipline of "symbology" were real, it would fall under semiotics.]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician (semiotics: the study of signs and signification[[hottip:Note: If Dan Brown's fictional discipline of "symbology" were real, it would fall under semiotics.]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician [what "symbology" really is called] (semiotics: the study of signs[[hottip:*:Signs: [[WorldOfSymbolism anything which represents or stands for anything]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

* ViewersAreGeniuses: To give some illustration of the ''sheer magnitude'' of the permeation of this trope through his fiction, Foucault's Pendulum requires at least a modest familiarity with the conception of God in Kabbalah in order to understand the book's narrative arrangement. Though Kabbalah is not the most obscure of topics, - and certainly not the most obscure form of knowledge required to understand Foucault's Pendulum - this is a novel which requires substantial reading into a major world mystic/faith tradition ''merely to understand its chapter layout''.

'''Umberto Eco''' (born 1932) is an Italian mediaeval historian, semiotician [what "symbology" really is called] (semiotics: the study of signs[[hottip:*:Signs: [[WorldOfSymbolism anything which represents or stands for anything]]), and philosopher. Outside academia, he is best known as a novelist, particularly his debut novel, ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'', which was made into a film starring SeanConnery.

* ''FoucaultsPendulum''

* UnreliableNarrator: By the end of ''FoucaultsPendulum'', Casaubon doubts his own sanity, and questions how much is true of what he had seen. In ''Baudolino'', the protagonist admits that he's a great liar and decieved many people, so the veracity of his story also can be questioned, especially since it gets more and more outlandish as it progresses.

Wrote an essay in 1984 about tropes called "Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage", which ends with what might as well have been to a reference to TVTropes, describing a possible future in which [[ViewersAreGeniuses viewers and artists]] are all equally aware of the universe of tropes and spend their time recognising them and using them to communicate.[[hottip:*:Après nous, le déluge.]]