Echoes from Eternity: 29. Umberto Eco goes travelling

We can’t travel because of the virus. But one day we will… hopefully! So it’s worth gearing ourselves up with practical tips and advice.

But you might be surprised, at first sight, that we turn now to the great Italian genius, Umberto Eco. Philosophy Professor, Popular Novelist, Regular Columnist. His mind and creativity was something else. I’ve loved his novels. Particular favourites:

• The Name of the Rose (obviously – mindbogglingly clever)
• Foucault’s Pendulum (even clevererer; but quite dark, this one! )
• The Prague Cemetery (imagined origins of THE conspiracy theory, the gruesome fraud that was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion)

But I’ve also loved some of his columns. Many of them are just so hilarious. So here, in this post and the next, are a few gems from his wonderful How to Travel With A Salmon.

• How to travel with a salmon (1986)
• How to react to familiar faces (1989)