Umberto Eco and film-maker Jean-Claude Carriere, both inveterate bibliophiles and book-collectors, discuss all things bookish – the history of the book, the book as medium and artifact, contents of books (knowledge and literature) and activities and habits connected with books. Author Jean-Philippe de Tonnac acts as an unobtrusive curator, prodding on the protagonists with a few well-judged questions. At its best this book makes one feel as if one is eavesdropping on the conversation of two impossibly erudite friends. At its worst, it risks becoming an exercise in showing off – Eco in particular has a rather irritating habit of using his own works as examples. What redeems this project is the enthusiasm which the protagonists clearly have for books and reading. Polly MacLean’s translation is fluent and idiomatic. As befits the subject, the book is presented as an attractive hardback which is a pleasure to hold and behold.

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Mi lesz a könyvekkel az e-book megjelenésével, meg itt van ez a fránya nagy internet is. Hadd mondjak el százhuszonhét történetet filmekről. Például amikor Buñuellel készítettük a nemtommelyik filmet… Ha már a könyvekről beszélgetünk.

Nem mondom, voltak benne érdekes anekdoták és megtudhattuk, milyen könyveket gyűjtenek, új információval is gazdagodtam, de az a helyzet, hogy sokkal többet vártam ettől a könyvtől. Két sziporkázó elme beszélgetését, ehelyett kaptam egy pici Ecót, egy kis humort, és sok-sok oldalt, amin csak túl akartam lenni, mert bármelyik közepesen intelligens asztaltársaság ugyanezt össze tudta volna hozni. Kevesebb filmes példával, persze. Hogy az interneten jaj, mennyi információ van, meg kell tanulni szűrni, melyik a hiteles, meg jaj, a könyvek illata.

„[…] viszont pontosan azt mondja el, amit mi is tudunk. […] nem ad hozzá egyetlen új gondolatot sem a tárgyhoz.” – mondja Eco. Na, valami ilyesmit éreztem. Ennyire azért nem sarkítva, de nagyjából.

Érdekes például, hogy a szövegek és az adathordozók elavulásakor nem reflektáltak arra, hogy amit most ők beszélgetnek, az vajon mennyi idő után lesz idejétmúlt. Bár szerintem 2009-ben sem voltak ezek forradalmian új, eredeti gondolatok.

Persze már rögtön az elején kisiklott a dolog, amikor a fordító csillagozott lábjegyzetekben javította Carrière tárgyi tévedéseit. Innentől nem csoda, ha némi szkepticizmussal álltam a további mondandójához.

Azért fogok még idézni biztosan, mert voltak benne érdekességek, de most nem éreztem azt, hogy de jó, ezt is, ezt is, ezt is ki akarom írni. ( )

Umberto Eco and film-maker Jean-Claude Carriere, both inveterate bibliophiles and book-collectors, discuss all things bookish – the history of the book, the book as medium and artifact, contents of books (knowledge and literature) and activities and habits connected with books. Author Jean-Philippe de Tonnac acts as an unobtrusive curator, prodding on the protagonists with a few well-judged questions. At its best this book makes one feel as if one is eavesdropping on the conversation of two impossibly erudite friends. At its worst, it risks becoming an exercise in showing off – Eco in particular has a rather irritating habit of using his own works as examples. What redeems this project is the enthusiasm which the protagonists clearly have for books and reading. Polly MacLean’s translation is fluent and idiomatic. As befits the subject, the book is presented as an attractive hardback which is a pleasure to hold and behold.

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The only reason I am not rating it higher is because the two authors-- Carriere and Eco-- do have moments when they just ramble on and on. After a while, you might want to skim some parts. But that aside, the book is set up as a conversation between the two authors moderated by Jean-Philippe de Tonnac, and it is worth reading. The two have great insights on all sorts of topics related to books, and even on some topics that may barely touch on books. They talk about books, the Internet, libraries (personal and institutional), censors, antiquities, privacy, etc. They cover a lot of ground in this book. I would say it is not a book to rush through. Take your time with it. Brew yourself some coffee or tea, and read a bit here and there. Book lovers definitely owe it to themselves to read this book. Librarians will probably enjoy it as well. If nothing else, the two authors do prove convincingly that the book is not going away any time soon, no matter what any naysayer predicts. ( )

Delightful rumination on the enduring significance of books and libraries. This conversation between a renowned novelist (Umberto Eco) and an accomplished filmmaker (Jean-Claude Carriere) will humble lesser mortals who do not carry in their heads the full and interesting histories of human intellectual achievement generally and the milestones of their art forms specifically. One wonders what it must be like to dwell in their world of deep learning and casual openness. ( )