Paris

Paris is the central setting of the novel. It is the city where Barthes was killed for the document detailing the seventh function of language, and the city where most of the conspirators operate. Paris is the center of 20th century philosophical life, and also where the political intrigue involving the race between Giscard and Mitterand happens.

Bologna

Bologna is a city in Italy where Simon and Bayard go to find Umberto Eco. It is a tense and fascinating city with a vibrant political atmosphere. Simon meets Bianca there, and they narrowly escape disaster when the Bologna train station is bombed.

Ithaca

Ithaca is a small college town in upstate New York, and is home to Cornell University. Many of the novel's characters go to a linguistics conference at Cornell, and it functions as the site of the novel's climactic action. It is in Ithaca that Derrida and...