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.