The long list of Umberto Eco's books and publications contains only three novels, Il nome della rosa (1980; translated as The Name of the Rose, 1983), Il pendolo di Foucault (1988; translated as Foucault's Pendulum, 1989), and L'isola del giorno prima (1994; translated as The Island of the Day Before, 1995), but their remarkable international success has made him the most famous Italian novelist writing today. Before the appearance of his first novel, Eco, a man of encyclopedic learning, was already well known for his contributions to the discipline of semiotics, as a prolific author of books and essays on a wide range of scholarly subjects, and as a gifted writer on politics and popular culture. His novels and other writings have been translated into many languages, and he has lectured and taught at universities all over the world.

As one of Italy's most prominent writers Eco remains resolutely Italian. Yet he is also...