The Limits of Interpretation

Eco’s essays read like letters from a friend, trying to share something he loves with someone he likes…. Read this brilliant, enjoyable, and possibly revolutionary book. -George J. Leonard, San Francisco Review of Books… a wealth of insight and instruction. -J. O. Tate, National ReviewIf anyone can make [semiotics] clear, it’s Professor Eco…. Professor Eco’s theme deserves respect; language should be used to communicate more easily without literary border guards. -The New York TimesThe limits of interpretation mark the limits of our world. Umberto Eco’s new collection of essays touches deftly on such matters. -Times Literary SupplementIt is a careful and challenging collection of essays that broach topics rarely considered with any seriousness by literary theorists. -DiacriticsUmberto Eco focuses here on what he once called the cancer of uncontrolled interpretation -that is, the belief that many interpreters have gone too far in their domination of texts, thereby destroying meaning and the basis for communication.