The Island of the Day Before

Let me start by saying that I consider Umberto Eco the finest writer of this century. His mastery of words, his elegaic visions translated into prose, his character depth like bottomless wells, his intricate plotlines and signposts of erudite information... above all his love of symbology in conjunction with his love of words woven into his overwhelming ability to create riveting storylines endears his writing to me so that rumours of a new "Eco" makes me almost breathless. That said, let me explain the sort of readership who will enjoy this cartwheeling extravaganza of hope, loneliness, isolation, history, intellectualism and richness of detail. 1. You will need a larger vocabulary than that necessary for the reading of "Harry Potter", or you will willingly embrace the opportunity to increase your word-store by keeping a dictionary nearby. By doing this, you will be following in the great tradition endorsed by Tolkien and Samuel Johnson. 2. You will need to enjoy a storyline that is anything but straightforward. In this novel in particular, Umberto Eco takes many streams of narrative, delves also into the purely descriptive, and weaves it all into a story that is not limited by the linear. 3. You will need to find beautifully phrased writing and well-coloured choice of words intoxicating and delicious. 4. You will need not to be put off by a storyline that moves between different time periods in the life of the main character. 5. You will need to be ready for something that is more demanding than genre fiction. 6. You will need an explorative excitement in fiction. If you feel the above points could describe you, take the plunge into the wild and star-canopied oceans stirred up by the ferris wheels of imagination. The story, as much as I can describe it briefly, concerns a young man who, semi-conscious, washes up near a ship-wreck some little distance off an island. What led to his being there, the story of the ship itself, the young man's past, the elements of history that paint a part of his history too, considerations of meaning, solitide, companionship, swordsmanship, sieges, elegance, naive eagerness, the meaning of a dove flame-orange in colour, the meaning of this island "of the day before", courage, foolishness, wisdom, speculations and wonders are like clusters in the great galaxy of Umberto Eco's writing. It's vivid, exciting, rich with the sort of descriptiveness that tumbles hastily, one word or phrase chasing another in an endless dance of cataclysmic wonder. This novel was so immensely satisfying for me that I sighed as though replete after a banquet when I finished it. I find the images created by the words coming to my mind often. Some reviewers have said it's not one of Umberto Eco's best novels; I disagree. It was delight after delight after delight. For those willing to drown and be reborn within the delicious writing of this work... enjoy!

_________ Fluff or not? NOT. _________ Robert de la Griva, our protagonist is first shipwrecked then washed up on a deserted ship anchored off a mysterious Island. Our story follows the rantings of this slightly unhinged and lonely, lovesick, sailor. With equal energy he pines over his imaginary love and yearns for the safety of the island within tantalizing proximity to his lonely outpost. Language in all its complexity and glory, history with its heroes and discoveries, love, poetry, death, and disappointment - they're all here. Just beware, when you set out to enjoy this book, be ready to keep a good dictionary handy. +: imaginative, unconventional, thought provoking, beautiful, fun, poetic, lots of new words to learn -: not a light read, numerous unfamiliar words really required me to stop often and use my trusty Webster's

The meaning behind the name of this book struck me about a quarter of the way through. Sometimes I forget titles while I read and just enjoy the contents. But this had so much significance to what the book was actually about, it stayed with me. Imagine; even if only 'imagined', the ability to swim to an island within your sight, and arrive in the prior day. Not too shabby, compared with most titles I see, and the meanings behind them. But a clever title is not all to be found with this Umberto Eco novel. Theology; existentialism; lost language; and even one of my favorite words (discovered first while performing in 'The Pirates of Penzance); escutcheon. Others criticize Eco on his meandering thoughts and ideas; on his half-truths/half-fictions; his playful use of alternate reality; and his obvious disregard for probability. I say 'what the heck are you reading Eco for, then?' It took me four years of owning this book to read it. Prior to this, I could not do it. But now, with Name of the Rose and Baudolino under my belt, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, devouring it from cover to cover, and opening my mind to all that Eco has to offer... Roberto, the 'hero' of the story, finds himself stranded on board the Daphne, a boat anchored just offshore an unreachable island. Without wind, without crew, and without a know-how of swimming, Roberto explores his new 'prison', having survived a shipwreck of the vessel Amaryllis. Finding that he is indeed NOT alone on the boat, Roberto prepares to flush out the intruder and face him down. But what Roberto discovers is not quite what he set out to find. The novel flows back and forth in time, as well as in and out of 'reality' as Roberto weaves a tale of his childhood and the invention of his dark twin Ferrante, who dogs him throughout his life, to the discovery of his lady-love, Lilia; to his induction as a spy for Cardinal Richelieu; to his arrival on the Daphne, and the education he receives there in mapping the latitudes and longitudes of the planet. Like the other 2 Eco novels I have read, there is so much to be gleaned from the pages of this book...whether you enjoy the mingling of fact and fiction or not, for an avid reader like myself, willing to open my mind to flights of fancy...the challenge to your thought processes cannot be beat. A wonderful read....and worth the wait to be able to accomplish it.

To put it simply, this book is fabulous. It is beautifully crafted, elegantly written, and, as an added bonus, even wonderfully translated. All of Eco's books are remarkable, and each has its own specific merits; this book stands out most for its poetic quality. In a Borges short story there is a line about a noun consisting of the rising sun and the cry of a bird, and Eco has brilliantly suceeded at capturing that particular "noun." All language and images and philosophy, this book is a delight to read and re-read.

Many reviewers of The Island of the Day Before seem to fault the volume for many features which, were they familiar with the literature from which it is derived, they would find to be its greatest assets. Just one example is Eco's wonderful description of the Deluge which cannot be appreciated without having read Ovid. As with all of Eco's works a healthy interest in philosophy and semiotics is really required to follow the entire work. (DeGriva's mandering about the ship for instance can be viewed as a metaphor for the abductive line of reasoning, something Eco deals with extensively in his scholarly works.) This volume is demanding, as others have noted, and we seem to live in a world where we don't expect books to make demands of us, so for many readers this book may be too complex. However, if one is truly interested in learning the topics which interest the polymath Eco this volume is a treasure trove for what you learn along the way. If one wants only familiar words and a simple plot, do not read Eco--you will probably miss the point.