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Loading... Baudolino (2000)by Umberto Eco
Work InformationBaudolino by Umberto Eco (Author) (2000)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. If in your life, you only read one book about the mythical kingdom of Prestor John, make it Catherynne Valente's "The Habitation of the Blessed" if after that you still have a yearning to search for that far-flung Christian kingdom (and also you enjoy long arguments regarding the existence of the vacuum), then read "Baudolino". ( ) In this light-hearted novel the eponymous Baudolino, a resourceful cross between Voltaire's Candide and Thomas Berger's "Little Big Man," is an energetic enough narrator who regales his tired hearer (one Niketas Choniates) with the story of Baudolino's agreeably misspent youth, his chance meeting with warlord emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the remarkable events that follow when Frederick effectively adopts the clever stripling ( After forming bonds with several fellow students (including a moony would-be "Poet," a love-starved half-Moor, and a pragmatic rabbinical scholar), Baudolino sets out to write a history of his benefactor's exploits, assists in the defense of a defiant city built to withstand Frederick's impending sacking, and devises a plan to locate the legendary Holy "Grasal" (a.k. grail). The narrative continued in that vein and seldom disappointed this reader.
It's a mystery that begins well, and ends well, too, drenched in the scholastic logic and the intricate, entertaining literary gamesmanship that is Mr. Eco's territory. The problem is that while ''Baudolino'' contains plenty of learning and imagination, it is so strenuously fanciful that it becomes tedious, like a Thanksgiving Day parade that lasts all day. Is contained inHas the adaptationAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
It is April 1204, and Constantinople, the splendid capital of the Byzantine Empire, is being sacked and burned by the knights of the Fourth Crusade. Amid the carnage and confusion, one Baudolino saves a historian and high court official from certain death at the hands of the crusading warriors and proceeds to tell his own fantastical story. Born a simple peasant in northern Italy, Baudolino has two major gifts-a talent for learning languages and a skill in telling lies. When still a boy he meets a foreign commander in the woods, charming him with his quick wit and lively mind. The commander-who proves to be Emperor Frederick Barbarossa-adopts Baudolino and sends him to the university in Paris, where he makes a number of fearless, adventurous friends. Spurred on by myths and their own reveries, this merry band sets out in search of Prester John, a legendary priest-king said to rule over a vast kingdom in the East-a phantasmagorical land of strange creatures with eyes on their shoulders and mouths on their stomachs, of eunuchs, unicorns, and lovely maidens. With dazzling digressions, outrageous tricks, extraordinary feeling, and vicarious reflections on our postmodern age, this is Eco the storyteller at his brilliant best. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)853.914Literature Italian Italian fiction 1900- 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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