The Mysterious Flame Of Queen Loana

Description

This remarkable illustrated novel is Eco's most accessible and entertaining book since The Name of the Rose. In this fascinating, abundant new novel from the incomparable Eco, Yambo, a rare-book dealer, has suffered a bizarre form of memory loss. He can remember every book he ever read but nothing about his own life. In an effort to retrieve his past, he withdraws into his old family home and searches through boxes of old newspapers, comics, records, photo albums and diaries kept in the attic. And so Yambo relives his youth- Mussolini, Catholic education, Josephine Baker, Flash Gordon, Fred Astaire. His memories run wild, and life racing before his eyes takes the form of a graphic novel. Yambo struggles through the flames to capture one simple, innocent image, that of his first love.

Umberto Eco (1932-2016) wrote fiction, literary criticism and philosophy. His first novel, The Name of the Rose, was a major international bestseller. His other works include Foucault's Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before, Baudolino, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, The Prague Cemetery and Numero Zero along with many brilliant collections of essays.

"Confirms Eco as an outstanding writer of philosophy dressed as fiction" -- Stephanie Merrit Observer "As always with Eco, there is much to admire" Sunday Times "A beautiful evocation of a difficult period of Italian history, full of the flair and erudition for which we love Eco" Metro "Genuinely clever...the writing, the quotes and the pictures often tickle the brain" Irish Independent "Witty, playful, and incorrigibly erudite, Eco clearly had fun writing this book. There is much to enjoy" Daily Mail