1 Do you think Umberto Eco likes being interviewed?
Give reaso ns for your opinion.
Ans Umbe rto Eco, the interv iewee does not seen1 to dislike
being interv iewed . I-le gives long and elabor ate
answe rs to the questi ons posed by Muku nd
Padm anabh an. He answe rs a1J the questi ons in a
straig htforw ard, truthf ul and sincer e way, sharin g his
experi ences with the world at large.
Nowhe re does he try to evade a questio n. He also
smiles and shrugs during the interview which
shows his interes t. At no point during the
intervi ew do we feel that he is in a hurry to wind
up the interview. Thus, he seems to like being
intervi ewed.
2 How does Eco find the time to write so much?
Ans Umber to Eco values time; in fact, he values each
and every second. He utilises even the 'interst ices'
i.e., the empty spaces or gaps betwee n any two
pieces of literatu re written by him. Most of us
ignore this time but Umber to Eco uses it in a
produc tive manne r. Thus, he has found time to
write a large numbe r of works.
3 What was distinctive about Eco's academic writing
style? Delhi 2011
A ns Umber to Eco's style was distinc tive becaus e it is a
narrati ve written in the manne r of a story, in
contra st to a regula r academic style, which is
invariably depersonalised, dry and boring. Even
his scholarly works have a certain playful and
person al quality about them. He wrote books for
childre n on non-violence and peace. He pursue d
his philosophical interes ts tlu·ough his academic
work and his novels.
4 Did Umberto Eco consider himself a novelist first
or an academic scholar?
Ans Umber to Eco considers himsel f an academ ic
scholar first. He has over forty works in
noi::i-fiction, but only about five novels. The
fictional works make him reach a large audience.
He participates in academic conferences but not
meetin gs of fan clubs and writers. This Professor
thorou ghly identifies himsel f with the academic
community. He writes novels on Sundays or only
when he is not involved in any scholarly activity.
5 What is the reason for the huge success of the
novel, 'The Name of the Rose'?
or State the reason for the huge success of the novel
'The Name of the Rose'. Delhi 200s
Ans The reason for the huge success of the novel, 'The
Name of the Rose', is probably that it was a
different kind of novel from the norma l one, as it
was a highly personalised narrati ve in an
unconv ention al style. It was a serious detective
story which probed into metaphysics, theology
and medieval history. All these topics interes ted
readers. The author himsel f was mystified by its
success and says that probably the novel was
written at the right time; it may not have been
such a success if it had come earlier or later.