5 Indispensable Umberto Eco Books

The Name of the Rose
Eco’s most famous work of fiction, this dense novel is set in an Italian Benedictine Monastery in the year 1327, and follows Franciscan friar William of Baskerville as he investigates a series of mysterious deaths. The mystery is in its basic form fascinating, making this a novel that can be enjoyed on a high level—but the true pleasures of the book are unlocked when you allow yourself to follow Eco down a labyrinth of thought involving a real book (Aristotle’s book on Comedy) of which no known copy exists, the meaning of words (including the titular “rose”), the power of laughter, and the way all texts refer to and even include, to some extent, other works. Beautifully written, The Name of the Rose inspires you to think more deeply, making this a must-read even if you’re not entirely certain you understand it completely—or uncertain understanding it completely is even possible.

Foucalt’s Pendulum
Perhaps Eco’s most complex novel, on the surface the story involves three bored employees at a vanity publisher who, inspired by manuscripts about conspiracy theories, invent their own for fun, called The Plan. Unexpectedly, The Plan is taken seriously by conspiracy theorists around the world, and they find themselves under threat from people who come to suspect they truly possess hidden knowledge. As with The Name of the Rose, you can enjoy this novel as a tense thriller—a thinking man’s Da Vinci Code, even—but the true pleasures here come when you dig a little deeper, as Eco once again explores the nature of what we believe to be “real” and what knowledge actually is—in other words, how do we know what we think we know? If every bit of knowledge is passed down to us, how can we ever be sure of its veracity?

Numero Zero
Eco’s last novel shows no signs of Eco’s slowing down or aging, spinning a complicated tale of a failed writer hired to write newspaper articles never meant for actual publication. Eco uses this setup to launch a withering attack on modern journalism, as the skill set the non-journalists learn more or less focuses on manipulating their audience with simplified writing, ominous implications, and finding patterns where none exist in order to imply looming disaster at all times. Funny and sharp in its observation of modern life and the way truth has ceased to have meaning, the novel proves Eco remained one of our sharpest minds up until the end, and his observations concerning how easily journalism can be used to create reality is timely, expertly described, and immensely entertaining.

Kant and the Platypus
Eco was first and foremost an academic who sought to understand how meaning comes to be communicated through signs and symbols, language and images. His breakthrough work was A Theory of Semiotics, but this later collection builds on those initial essays and develops them further. Anyone who takes their reading seriously—and certainly any aspiring writer—will benefit from thinking about how words and language work, and Eco’s clear writing style moves easily from idea to idea, making these essays useful for anyone, even if you’re not familiar with the field. It’s important to remember Eco as more than just the guy who wrote that medieval mystery novel, and this collection of some of his most famous academic essays is the perfect way to do so.

How to Travel with a Salmon
Umberto Eco had a great sense of humor. Often lost in critical appreciations of his more serious work, his sense of comedy and satirical writing was impeccable. This collection of his humorous essays will open up a whole new side of the writer, as Eco hilariously parodies science fiction novels, rants about mass transit in the modern age, and even offers a guide to becoming, of all things, a Knight of Malta. Eco manages to imbue his humorous writing with brilliant points, but this collection of essays reminds us Eco wasn’t just brilliant, he was brilliantly funny.