The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto EcoThe Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana
by Umberto Eco

1.5 Stars

I have often joked that I would rather read Umberto Eco’s shopping list than many of the so-called popular novels. In this book, Eco goes to prove me wrong. Eco has written a book that is a struggle to read, not because it is deep, complex, and rich but because it is an utter bore.

The story tells of the case of Yambo, a rare-book dealer living in Milan. Yambo suffers a curious brain injury straight out of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. In his case, he can not recall anything that ever happened to him but he can remember every book he ever read. Curious. But Eco fails to do anything of much interest with this defect. For example, Yambo runs a book studio and has a female assistant. Yambo worries that perhaps he had an affair with her and wonders how she would react. He need not have worried, because like everyone else, she treats him with no mention of the past. Yambo’s wife is perfectly accepting of his condition and Yambo is able to bluff his way through conversations with any friends or acquaintances he meets. The end result is that nothing much happens and the book drones on.

Yambo decides to ride off into the country to visit his childhood home in hopes that something there may trigger his memories. Yambo wonders around and gives us a detailed description of his bowel movements. A lovely snail-shell structure still steaming. I was underwhelmed. Yambo wanders through the house finding secret rooms and reading old books. But none of this seems to go anywhere. In fact, it seems more like an excuse for Eco to discuss (although not in any detail), pre- and post-World War II Italian novels that Eco fondly remembers.

The book does pick up a little towards the final part but by then I just wished the book would end. I cared nothing for the main character of the story and found the whole enterprise an absolute chore to pull myself through. Eco has done much better. If you are a true fan then go ahead and read the book to see that Eco is, indeed, fallible. Otherwise choose one of his other books instead.

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