On literature

Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian novelist, literary critic, philosopher, semiotician, and university professor. He is widely known for his 1980 novel Il nome della rosa (The Name of the Rose), a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory. He later wrote other novels, including Il pendolo di Foucault (Foucault's Pendulum) and L'isola del giorno prima (The Island of the Day Before). His novel Il cimi...

Martin McLaughlin is a translator, notably bringing Italo Calvino's The complete Cosmicomics and Path to the Spiders' Nests to English readers. He also writes his own books, including Desert Slaughter and Into the War, often exploring themes of conflict and literature.