Like Audrey Niffeneger (“The Time Traveler’s Wife”) or Elizabeth Kostova (“The Historian”), Umberto Eco seemed to step forth from the Head of Zeus as a fully formed writer when he published “The Name of the Rose” in 1983, a rich, historical mystery involving monks, illuminated manuscripts and the Inquisition.
As with most writers, Eco’s fictional output since that best seller has been both hit (“Focault’s Pendulum,” “Baudolino”) and miss (“The Island of the Day Before”), but even when Eco misses the mark, the result is endlessly fascinating. With his new novel, “The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana,” Eco takes on the always complicated human consciousness, as well as the act of creative writing – and while he may not hit the bull’s-eye, Eco comes darn close.
Giambattista “Yambo” Bodini, a 60-something Milanese seller of antique books, suffers a stroke and experiences a strange sort of amnesia. The memory of his life, all of his private experiences, has vanished, but the memory of everything he has read – and that of a few, public, everyday routines – remains intact. Memories of his family, lovers, childhood friends – even his own name – are lost to him, but Yambo can recite passages from classic works of literature like “Moby- Dick” and catchphrases from popular television shows like “Star Trek.”
Though his wife, Paola, does her best to help out, Yambo eventually decides to retreat to his ancestral family home in Solara. The large house is filled with books, gramophone records, photographs and papers, and only one person: an old family servant with a long memory.
Like most of Eco’s work, “Loana” becomes a sort of mystery novel as Yambo sets about “rediscovering” himself – his consciousness – in this secluded environment, which resembles nothing so much as his own mind. Steeped in material that includes love poems to a long ago sweetheart, pieces of propaganda from the reign of Mussolini, even Flash Gordon comic books, Yambo slowly begins to rebuild his memory and thus his own consciousness. When a second “incident” throws Yambo into a coma, his memory returns and with it the chance for a reunion with his childhood love.
Yes, Eco uses some overt symbolism (the house and it’s servant as a reflection of Yambo’s mind), and, yes, there are a few obvious plot twists (a hidden room is discovered at one point), but the passionate tone of Eco’s narrative in the second half of this novel as Yambo rediscovers himself more than makes up for the occasional overused plot device. And the accompanying illustrations (Yambo’s life is often recalled in the form of a comic book), offer a bit of nostalgic lagniappe.
A fascinating meditation on the importance of memory and the power of human consciousness, “The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana” works both as a trip back through the annals of history and a thoughtful, satisfying commentary on how easily modern society often dismisses the importance of the past.
Dorman T. Shindler, a freelancer from Missouri, contributes regularly to several national magazines and newspapers.
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana
By Umberto Eco
Harcourt, 480 pages, $27
